Erased And ReDrawn
by gracefullygothic
Summary: Everyone remembered that night - the night she had gone missing. But everyone else had been told when she had been found. Just not him. I suck at summaries - just read it if you want to. F/A; F/OC. Rated T to be safe. Slightly AU. (On hiatus until end of exam period/May.)
1. Sunburn

**A/N: ...Omg. I have not posted ANYTHING in a-ages. Sorry. Writer's block. Piano lessons. Badgering my mum for Muse tickets. Homework. Options choices. Anyway, this is gonna be a Flack/OC and Flack/Angell fic. The latter will be taking place before the former (though they will blur into each other (love triangle GALORE)). Dantana is obviously gonna be in here. Maybe Mac/Stella or Mac/Peyton. There will be references to NCIS and maybe even an odd chapter with the team in it but not enough for it to clarify as a crossover fic.  
Disclaimer: I do not own CSI:NY. Never have, never will. But I DO own my ideas and my OC's. Thanks for respecting that. I will also not be putting this disclaimer at the start of each chapter for the simple reason: it wastes time and space... sort of...**

* * *

She tossed her hair behind her back, applying the lipstick perfectly. Pressing her lips together, she took the mascara wand out of the tube and coated her eyelashes. Her green eyes were wide as she stared at the mirror, determined not to blink and smudge the mascara. However, she failed. Her cell began to buzz and vibrate across her bedside table and the sudden sound startled her. She muttered darkly under her breath as she saw the dark lines beneath her eyes.  
'Dammit!' She crossed her room, reaching her phone just in time to catch as it fell off her table. She sighed as she read the caller I.D. 'Hello, Dad. What do you want?' she asked wearily, entering her bathroom and opening the medicine cabinet, searching for her makeup remover. When she found it, she poured it onto some cotton, balancing her phone between her ear and shoulder.

_'I'm just ringing to make sure that you are actually coming tonight,'_ her father replied. _'I know you aren't the biggest fan of these charity balls but -_

'You have an image to uphold and my presence will help that. Plus, I'm about to meet someone who thinks I've been dead for the past ten years. So, he won't be the biggest fan of me. At all. And, by the way, you are a very high ranking politician, so my boss did ask me to come.' Her boss. The American Secret Service. She'd officially been working for them for at least three years.

_'I do not like the thought of my daughter carrying a gun with her as she attends a _charity_ ball.' _Her father tutted disapprovingly on the other end of the line.

Moving on to her right eye, she exhaled wearily, shaking her head.  
'Listen, it is part of my job description,' she reminded him. 'I've always been a sucker for justice since I was fifteen. Or so Ruby tells me.'

_'Why can't you just say what happened? I'm sure you _do_ remember.'_

Nicki instantly became angry as her father said this, snapping,  
'You know I don't remember: why do you insist that I do? We'll talk about this at this party -'

_'Charity ball,' _her father corrected her, irritated.

'Whatever. Listen, the short and short of this little matter: I am taking a gun. Sure, you might not be able to see it but I _will _be carrying one. I'll talk to you later at the party.'

'_Charity ball!' _her father shouted down the phone.

Smiling, she hung up and walked over to her bed, where her dress lay.

The dress was floor length satin. It was blue and glittered when the light caught it in a certain way. It wasn't strapless.

Nicki grunted quietly as she attempted to button up the back, exhaling in a gust of pure relief when she managed to do so.  
'Finally,' she muttered under her breath, scanning the room for her shoes. 'Perfect. Just perfe-' She cut herself off as she spotted her shoes lying next to her bed. 'Well, that kind of steals my thunder, doesn't it? Don't start yelling at your shoes, Nicki - They will turn up and embarrass you when you do that,' she added, stepping into them. Walking to her kitchen table, she picked up her gun and placed her gun inside her bag. She picked up her jacket and slung it on, walking towards her cell as it rang yet again. Nicki smiled as she read the caller I.D. - Mac.

'Hey, Mac - what you ringing for?' she asked her godfather amiably, her smile planted firmly on her face.

_'Hey, Nicki. Your father just rang me - he wants me to pick you up.'_ Mac snorted on his end of the line. _'I think he wants to make sure that you actually come tonight. Plus, he thinks I'll be able to talk you out of carrying a gun.'_

Nicki rolled her eyes, exhaling in an angry gust. Her father had always used Mac to get Nicki to do things whenever she said "no" to her father. Nicki thought it was unfair of her father to do that to her godfather and Mac hated it being asked of him, though he had stopped asking Nicki to do things when she was ten for two simple reasons.

One: she had found out that Max (Nicki's father) had been asking Mac to do things - and had immediately stopped following the orders she was given (Nicki was of the strong opinion that if someone couldn't tell her something to her face then why should she do it?)

Two: at ten years old, Nicki had gone to live with her mother in Israel.

'And did you tell him -'

_'That there was absolutely no possibility that you would be dissuaded?' _Mac finished wryly. _'Yep. He didn't believe me. Y'know what, Nicki?'_

'What?' Nicki asked warily, taking her jacket off. There really was no point in wearing it right now.

_'How did you end up being an agent for the Secret Service?_' There was laughter in Mac's voice_. 'You've always been so... headstrong.'_

Nicki smirked.  
'You learn to take orders. I learnt from an early age,' she murmured dryly. 'Listen, are you almost here yet?' she asked, pacing her front room.

_'A little impatient, aren't we, Nix? But, yeah, I'm just driving up to your apartment block now. Get yourself outside,_' Mac ordered her.

Nicki arched a well-shaped eyebrow.  
'Look who's impatient now,' she replied dryly, hearing Mac snort on the other end of the line. 'I'll be down in a few. See ya!' With that she hung up and left her apartment, locking it behind her.

* * *

Mac grinned at Nicki as she climbed into the car.  
'You look great. I'm sure the papers will be all over you tonight.' He laughed as Nicki groaned, accelerating towards the venue. 'Why are you going anyway?'

'Because you asked me to?' Nicki asked hopefully, sighing as Mac's eyes demanded an answer. 'Because I wouldn't have heard the end of it from Dad if I'd refused to go; even if I had refused my father, I have been ordered there and...' Nicki's voice trailed off - Mac glanced over at her. She seemed reluctant to finish the sentence. Only after extensive prompting from her godfather did she carry on. 'Fine. I want to attempt to make up with my father.'

Mac almost crashed the car, only just managing to slam down the brakes as the lights turned red.  
'You want to make up with Max? That's a new one!' he exclaimed, shaking his head.

Nicki glared at Mac.  
'What's so wrong with that? I never explained. He... well, strictly speaking Max doesn't deserve much of anything after the childhood I had -'

'Hey! What happened was not always Max's fault – your stepmothers were usually quite vicious!' Mac was almost reprimanding his goddaughter. 'But I do have to agree with you - your childhood wasn't exactly the best. However, you do have quite a few siblings.'

Nicki nodded her head, agreeing to the last two points. To be exact, Nicki had six siblings - five older and one younger. Her older siblings consisted of four girls: Kaitlin - she was the oldest of the girls; Sophie - the second eldest girl; Jasmine - the third eldest and Adelah, the fourth eldest. She also had an older brother, who was older than all the other girls, called William. Her youngest sibling was called Ruby. Nicki smirked - how well that name suited her red-headed, fiery sister.  
'Yes - I suppose it would have been quite difficult to handle seven children whilst we were all growing up. Though it doesn't excuse him from the fact that he sent Ruby and I to Israel.'

'How can you be mad at your Dad for something you don't even remember? It can't have been that bad - you and Ruby stayed in Israel for five years,' Mac commented, pulling into a parking spot in front of the City Hall. 'Anyway, we're here? What were you saying before we got into this discussion about your family? Something you never explained?'

Nicki smiled, knowing that her godfather was changing the subject. She let it pass and answered his question.  
'I was saying that Dad deserves an explanation... I owe it to him.'

Mac left the car, shutting the driver side door behind him, before walking around to the passenger side and opening Nicki's door. He helped her down and threw the keys to a valet.

'You really are enjoying this, aren't you?' Nicki muttered darkly under her breath, painting a false smile on her face for the hoards of the press that surrounded the City Hall. As she walked up the carpeted stairs, she whispered, 'He's really pulled out all of the stops for this one, hasn't he? I wonder what he's planning.' However, Nicki never got to finish her sentence because as soon as she entered the City Hall, she and her godfather were speared into a fierce bear hug by Ruby.

'Nicki! I can't believe you actually came!' Ruby squealed, bouncing up and down. 'Mac! It's so good to see you again!'

'You too,' Mac managed to choke out. For someone so small, Ruby managed to cut off air supplies incredibly well.

'What's up?' Ruby asked in her cheery voice, still hanging on.

'Air,' Nicki gasped. 'Running... out.'

Ruby swiftly let go, apologising.  
'Sorry - I didn't mean to. I've just not seen you two in ages.'

'Yeah, well, the business you work for isn't entirely _legal.'_ Mac rubbed his throat.

'What I do is legal - some of my boss' other departments are the _illegal_ parts.' Ruby's hands were swiftly upon her hips. 'Now, if you came here to lecture me -'

'You'd never believe she was twenty-three, would you, Mac?' Nicki commented, cutting across her little sister's rant. 'She acts like a forty-year old sometimes, what with her lectures and speeches.' She smiled as her younger sister pulled a face at her, saying, 'Now, now. There's no need to be rude.' Her voice was teasing.

Ruby glared at Nicki momentarily before sighing,  
'I can never stay angry with you. It's annoying.' She turned to Mac. 'Now, why don't I ever get a visit off _you_? After all, you know where I live. And when I get off work. So, why no visits?'

Mac was almost squirming underneath Ruby's glare as he answered slowly, choosing his words carefully.  
'My work keeps me _really_ busy, Ruby. I can't just push my work to the side - the safety of the citizens of New York depends on it. So, I'd visit you more often -'

'You haven't visited _once_,' Ruby growled. She could be quite intimidating when she wanted to be.

Nicki was laughing silently as she watched Mac try to answer her sister before cutting in,  
'I don't mean to interrupt - well, actually, I do,' she corrected herself, 'but I really need to ask you both something.'

'What?' Mac asked, still eyeing Ruby warily.

'Where is everyone else? Where's Will? Apart from us three, the press outside and the people Dad has hired to set up, no one is here.'

Ruby rolled her eyes, laughing.

Nicki's eyes questioned her sanity.

'Trust you to get all worked up about that, Nicki.' Ruby batted Nicki's questions away dismissively. 'The girls are getting ready in the rooms upstairs and Will is planning to...' Ruby struggled to find the right word to describe what their brother was planning to do. Finally, she settled on just saying, 'Will is planning to make an entrance.'

Nicki groaned, placing her face in her hands.  
'Ugh... that's going to be in the papers for a few months then. What's it going to be this time, then? A "Captain America" suit? High-speed car chase? Something that belongs in a "Die Hard" movie? Will's supposed to be the oldest, most mature, wisest, most sensible... I could go on. Ruby - do me a favour?'

Ruby, who had a small smirk upon her face from imagining that it looked like her sister was having a nervous breakdown, pulled a face before answering,  
'Depends on what it entails.'

Mac snorted, laughing quietly, as he shook his head. Of all the years he had known Ruby, she had always been the reluctant one as a little girl. Always lurking in the background, hoping not to be picked for something. Always hiding away, blushing furiously if she was spoken to. But now, Ruby was quite the extrovert, always making new friends, going out, hooking up with someone (though her relationships didn't usually last too long) and loved to give interviews to the press. However, Mac was slightly reassured to see that Ruby had not lost her reluctant streak, even if it was buried down deep inside of her.

Nicki looked up now, glaring at her sister.  
'Y'know you said before that you can't stay angry with me? Well, I can get angry with _you _and, for me, it's quite easy to _stay_ that way_._ I'd do anything you asked me to do. Why the reluctance?'

'She's always been that way,' Mac quietly reminded her. 'By the way, I've got to go and make a call to Stella - if I have to be here, I don't see why she shouldn't be here. Max is good friends with her as well.'

The sisters' eyebrows shot up as Ruby asked incredulously,  
'He is? Dad has good friends? Wow, that's a shocker.'

Mac just grinned, walking away.

Ruby stared her sister in the eye as soon as Mac was out of hearing range, stating,  
'You wouldn't.'

'"I wouldn't" what?' Nicki scanned the large hall, taking in all the decorations.

'Do anything I asked you to,' Ruby replied coolly.

'Well, I would. You know that, don't you?' Nicki raised an eyebrow as she saw a piano at the far end of the hall.

Ruby snorted.  
'Anything? You'd seriously do anything I asked you to?' she asked, her tone cynical.

Nicki turned her green eyes to her sister, looking down at her, slightly annoyed. Forever questioning other people's actions but never thinking before she leaped into the deep end. Never thinking before she spoke. Nicki took a deep breath, keeping it in until her lungs began to scream for air. In a short gust, she exhaled, sighing. She did not say anything to Ruby, just continued to stare down at her.

'Nicki? A question needs an answer,' Ruby prompted her sister.

Very slowly, emphasising each word, Nicki answered her sister's question.  
'You know I would do anything to keep you safe.'

'Anything legal,' Ruby replied, her eyes almost daring Nicki to say any different.

Nicki let out an exasperated sigh, her tone irritated.  
'Obviously - I work for the Secret Service, Ruby. Do you remember _that _little snippet of information?' With every word, she became more annoyed. 'Honestly, if you're too… scared to do this favour, I'll get someone else to do it.' Before she could walk away, Ruby was holding onto her arm, pulling her back. Nicki slowly turned her head to look down at Ruby. 'Is there a reason as to why you are trying pull my arm off?'

'I'll do the favour.' Ruby stated, eyes wide. 'What is it?'

With a fleeting smile, Nicki answered swiftly,  
'Mediate things tonight before – if – they get out of hand. That's all I need you to do - can you do that for me?' She gave another small smile as Ruby nodded, her red locks bouncing up and down. 'Thanks. You'll need to keep close tonight - with what I did, it could kick off at any moment.' Nicki stared at her sister, raising an eyebrow. Then, very deliberately, she moved her eyes towards her arm, onto which Ruby was still holding. 'You can let go now.'

Ruby swiftly dropped her hand, watching her sister walk upstairs to find her sisters. The room was so quiet that Ruby's quiet words found their way to her older sister.  
'It wasn't your fault. He'll understand.'

Nicki stopped, her feet resting on two different steps, gave a short laugh and asked in a cool voice voice,  
'Ask yourself this: did you understand at first? Were you all ready to forgive me?'

Ruby opened her mouth to say something but snapped it shut again as she found that her words had become stuck in her throat. She just hoped her sister knew her well enough to read the answer from her face.

* * *

**A/N: Well that took longer than expected! Blame school.. Sorry if this chapter was too long. If you don't understand Nicki and this whole first chapter so far, do not worry. A thought has just occurred to me ) but I shall ignore it for now. By the way, if Nicki's huge family of mostly girls is taking the biscuit with you - do not worry! I will sort that out. Reviews most welcome.  
Muchos adoras (my Spanish is very rusty even though I'm studying it... I must pay more attention to verb endings in class),  
Gracefullygothic**

**Note: 01/09/2012 - this has been edited slightly. I may have had a heart attack when I saw how bad it was and then decided to edit it, cut things out and attempt to make it better.**


	2. Dead Star

**A/N: Right... first things first. Sorry for the wait. My computer died on me and we couldn't get it fixed for a month. And when we did get it fixed, it wiped everything. **_**Everything**_** everything. Like my entire iTunes library and my entire chapter two. It was not backed up. So, I'm re-writing it. And it's a lot different than the chapter two that was going to be published. Best get on with it then. Before I'm murdered for not posting it. Or my computer dies again.**

* * *

An hour after Nicki's brief exchange with her younger sister, after Max's speech and a loud entry from Nicki's brother (a Western style shoot- out in the entrance of the building), the charity ball was in full swing. Rich socialites were socialising with powerful figures of authority, who were planning publicity stunts whilst drinking some of the most expensive champagne in North America. Meanwhile, in the more secluded corners of the large room, stood the attendees that had no real taste for parties – Stella Bonasera and Don Flack.

Stella leant down to take off her high heels and rubbed her ankles, now swollen, sighing,  
'I can't believe Mac actually roped me into this. I can't believe I _agreed_. I'd rather be at work than here.'

Flack snorted, grinning down at Stella, loosening his tie.  
'I know the feeling. Except I was invited here. I had a choice. I could stay at home and relax after a hard day's work –'

'Excuse me, but when I last saw you, you had your feet up on your desk!' Stella cried, half laughing.

'Yeah... well...' Flack found himself with no valid argument, so he just carried on with what he had been saying previously. 'Anyway, I could've relaxed at home or chosen to attend some charity ball that's being thrown for some obscure reason. No prize on guessing which I chose.' He closed his eyes, sighing deeply.

Stella looked up, concerned. Her friend and colleague looked exhausted, sad and, for a reason Stella could not fathom, very alone.  
'What's up?' she asked him softly, taking a flute of champagne of a tray. 'You don't exactly look happy.'

'I am. Well, I'm not... No, I am. It's just that I haven't been around the Forrests in a long, _long_ time and my last memories of this family aren't so happy. I've no idea why I was even invited – Max hates me.' Flack looked out across the sea of people, trying to search out the man he was speaking of. He found him engulfed in a crowd of women wearing designer dresses and men wearing expensive suits. It looked, from where Flack was standing, as if Max was trying to negotiate a deal of some sort. Even on social occasions, Max was always doing business. Somehow sensing he was being watched, Max looked up and scanned the room before his eyes settled upon Flack, giving him a strained smile that came nowhere close to his eyes. Flack returned the smile, murmuring quietly, 'He never could accept the fact that I had nothing to do with it. He didn't know who to blame so he blamed me.'

'For what?' Stella was about to ask, but as she opened her mouth, a beautiful, tall and tanned woman with honey blond hair glided over to the two of them.

'Don!' she called, in a lilting voice. 'You came!' Without waiting for Flack to look at her, she enveloped him in a warm hug. 'How have you been? It's been too long! Way too long!' Releasing Flack, she looked at Stella, asking quietly, 'Who are you? Are you...' She looked at Flack and her mouth formed into a perfect "o". 'Are you Don's girlfriend?' she asked, a large smile spreading across her face. 'You look positively radiant.'

Flack's eyes were wide whilst Stella answered calmly, trying not to laugh,  
'No, I'm not Flack's girlfriend – but thanks for the compliment. I'm Stella. A friend of Flack's – I'm also a good friend of Mac Taylor. Who I'm going to kill as soon as I set eyes on him. Who are you?' she asked, almost suspiciously.

The mysterious woman glared at Don as if she was telling him off.  
'Don – aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?' she asked in a commanding tone.

Flack nodded, looking slightly dazed.  
'Um... Katie, this is Detective Stella Bonasera. Stella, this is Katie Forrest: Max's eldest daughter.'

Stella nodded, smiling at Katie.  
'It's nice to meet you.'

'Same,' Kaitlin replied softly. 'So, why have you two turned up here?' She didn't take her eyes off Flack as she spoke, like she was waiting for something to happen. 'It can hardly be that you were bored or that you wanted to come!' She laughed loudly. 'If I'd had a choice, I would've been at home, with my feet up, eating a tub of Ben and Jerry's, having some rare me time! Having kids, it's great but you hardly get any time to yourself!'

'You have kids?' Flack asked, obviously shocked from the way his voice shot up at least a by a few pitches. 'I never thought you were the settling down type. I always thought you would be the forever dating sister.' He jumped quickly to the side as Katie's hand flew at his arm. 'Just joking, Kay, just kidding.'

Katie frowned, chewing on her lip for a few moments, before saying brightly,  
'Thanks! Yeah, I have a little girl – Adora. She's beautiful: long blond locks of hair, sparkling blue eyes, the works. She's just gone two months old... Don?' she asked suddenly, as his eyes seemed to glaze over and his face lost all expression. 'Don? Is something wrong?'

Slowly, Flack shook his head, murmuring,  
'No... I... I just thought I saw someone. Anyway, who did you get hitched to? Who's the lucky guy?'

'Mark Thompson. But I am, to the relief of my family, still Kaitlin Forrest.' Katie grinned. 'I'll leave you two alone now –' Her voice was full of implications, her eyes glinting mischievously. '- and if you feel the need to go outside, just to get away from it all, the doors all open out onto balconies.' With that, Katie turned around and glided away.

Stella watched until she was sure Katie was out of hearing range, before turning to Flack, announcing to him,  
'She has had way too much time on her hands for a married woman and mother.'

Flack just smirked down at his colleague. Slowly, his smirk turned into grin, which morphed into a full blown smile. Then he burst into laughter.  
'Stella, you really should be glad you didn't hear her when she was single! I'm going to get some air on one of these balconies – don't follow me out. That'd make Kay's day!'

* * *

Nicki smiled at the sight of Mac and Max conversing happily. It had been a long time since she'd seen them together. Of course, they probably talked a lot more except Nicki didn't usually throw herself into family occasions. Bored, she looked around the packed hall, trying to find Will so she could have one of their trademark very random subject conversations. Normally, they went from the subject of how everyone was to whether anyone else had a significant other yet to where they were living and then Will came up with the first – usually quite strange - part of the conversation. Unfortunately, Nicki could not find her brother, so she occupied herself by going over to Sophie, who stood surrounded by fawning socialites. She had no patience for the gaggle of girls surrounding her sister, so she pushed them out of the way, giving them a sickly sweet smile.  
'Move it - I've got a sister to talk to!' she declared, tossing her black hair behind her. When the socialites seemed reluctant to move, she glared at them, saying in a low and menacing voice, 'If you don't move right now, I will personally drag you out of this building myself because I know for a fact that my older sister here forged tickets for you all just so you could have a good gossip. In the event that I don't manage to drag each one of your silicone asses out of here, I will call for security and instruct them that if any of you put up any resistance, they can use Tasers. Do we understand?' she asked, her voice growing more irritated by the second and her green eyes flashing dangerously. Slowly, they moved away, grumbling and murmuring insults under their breath.

'Nicki!' Sophie chided. 'Do you have to be so rude to my friends? Just because you don't like them –'

'No one likes them – not even their own mothers! Anyway, they only like you because of your last name! Plus if they hang around you, it's a sure way to pull guys!' Nicki took a deep breath. 'Anyway, I don't need extras when I've already got my hands full. I still can't believe they assigned one person to at least three hundred people!' Nicki added in an undertone, seemingly talking to herself. She tossed her hair back behind her again, chewing angrily upon her lip. 'Y'know, it's time like this that I hate my job. The Service can be so half-assed about this thing that they can't even send another agent along to help out! Not even Harding, who's off tanning in Barbados. They are so half-assed about this that they ignore universal rules of personal involvement and send me along to - Hell, I don't even know anymore! All I got was a call saying "Forrest, get your ass to that thing your father's hosting tomorrow night!",' she said angrily, imitating her boss' deep, gruff voice. She reverted to her normal tone now as she cried, 'Yeah, don't bother telling me why, just that my job's on the line if I don't go! Some days, I just want to quit...'

Sophie looked curiously at her sister, asking slowly,  
'So why don't you? If you don't like your job so much, quit it. Live the life of luxury we Forrest's were born into and -'

'And what? Become the new poster girl for some company?' Nicki laughed shortly. 'Yeah, Sophie. Like I'd love that job! Or you know, I could just live off Dad's money like the rest of you do... Sorry, that was harsh,' Nicki apologised to her sister, who had a somewhat hurt look upon her face. 'It's not the job I don't like, it's just my superiors I don't like. They never give you a straight answer and when you demand one, it's "need-to-know-and-you-don't-need-to-know". Just... ah, never mind.'

Sophie put a supportive arm around her little sister's shoulders and held her close.  
'You know what, Nicki?'

'What?'

'I think that your boss is an idiot and I'd love to tell him where he could shove his orders and he can leave my little sister alone!' Sophie said, her tone a lot more than irritated. It was somewhere in the regions of murderous, which was quite strange as Sophie hardly ever became really angry.

'Sophie, I find it hard to believe that you're getting so pissed because of my work life - what's up with you?' Nicki looked directly at her sister and waited for an answer until she looked away. However, Nicki didn't like the answer she was given.

'I'm pissed at quite a few things at the moment, including that thing walking towards us called Adelah, dragging your ex-boyfriend along behind her.' Sophie growled, looking somewhat murderous.

Nicki followed Sophie's glare and almost screamed - she settled for yelping like a wounded animal instead. Indeed, being towed along by Adelah was Flack, looking suitably confused.  
'What the fu- what the Hell? Crap. _Crap_. Sophie, what am I going to -'

Sophie took her arm away from Nicki's shoulders, turned to face her sister with a calm expression... and slapped her. Thankfully, no one noticed.  
'Wow, that felt so good - anyway, get a grip of yourself! He's just a guy you used to know. And dated. For four years. Then left him suddenly for two years. And when you did get back, you didn't bother calling him. Seriously, how bad could it possibly be?' At Nicki's answering death glare - amplified by her piercing eyes -, Sophie added hastily, 'But seriously, I'm here for you all the way, Nicki. All the way. I'm behind you all the way - because behind you is probably going to be the best place to be when this gets vicious. Ow!' she yelped as Nicki buried her high heel into Sophie's shin. 'Fine - but I'm here, you know?'

Nicki glared at Sophie for several moments. Then she gave a small smile, saying,  
'I've got a new plan. I'm not sure I can pull it off though -'

'Want help?'

Nicki shook her head quickly - it would soon be Sophie burying her heels into Nicki's shins - as she watched Adelah drag Flack through the crowds of people. _What does she think she's doing?_ she thought to herself turning away from Adelah and Flack so that they did not see her. A voice at the back of her head asked her why she was hiding - they were going to see her anyway. She gulped loudly as she heard Adelah call Sophie's name.

* * *

'Sophie! Hey, Sophie, you great big airhead!' Adelah waved at her sister. 'Hey! You seen Nicki tonight?'

Sophie nodded silently, eyes narrowed again, though she kept her focus on Don, who was looking at Adelah as if she had gone utterly mad.

'Yeah. I've seen her.' she growled, standing up straighter. She walked over to Adelah, holding her head high. 'Why? Do you need to talk to her?' Now turning her attention to Flack, she smiled, greeting him quietly, 'Hey, Don. Long time, no see. Forgive me if I seem majorly annoyed - I've just had some of my friends thrown out by security.'

'What for?' he asked, eyes focused upon Sophie (thankfully he had not noticed Nicki, who had managed to slip away into a crowded corner (it was all part of her new plan)), though he was wondering which substance Adelah had been abusing. Nicki was still missing. Maybe they'd been drinking a little too much. 'Anyway, why are all the Forrest's so drunk tonight?'

Adelah rounded on Flack, protesting,  
'The Forrest's do not drink -' Adelah cut herself off as Jasmine, in all her wonder, stumbled into the middle of the hall before collapsing onto the floor. Shaking her head imperceptibly, she now said slowly, 'Well, most of us aren't drunk.'

Sophie looked confused.  
'Why - who's drunk now? Kay'll flip if it's Ru-' What Sophie was saying was cut off by a loud sharp scream of "_Omigosh, she's dead!_".

* * *

Nicki, who had been watching the conversation between Flack and her sisters whilst checking her phone for messages, looked up sharply at the scream. Her eyes scanned the room for the location of the scream and knew, as a large crowd formed around the middle of the room, that the origin of the commotion was there. Instantly, her federal agent instincts kicked in and she sprinted across the room, elbowing the people out of the way. She was vaguely aware of insults being thrown at her and three people following her.  
'Move it!' she yelled at the people in front of her, who turned to look at her as if she was some crazed animal. Nicki was half tempted to snap at them her teeth at them. However, Nicki settled for just yelling at them. 'Move the Hell out of my way right now! I am a federal agent and you willmove out of my way now!'

She carried on running, elbowing and almost headbutting the attendees out of her way. Prompted by Nicki's furious yelling, a path was cleared for her. When she saw the body, she skidded to a halt.

Upon the floor lay Jasmine Forrest, her head held in Kaitlin's arms.

The fact that Nicki had been followed by three people had vanished from her mind when she saw her sister dead upon the floor. She was reminded, however, when someone thudded into her back, pushing her forwards. Nicki would've turned around and told probably told them to watch where they were going but her mouth seemed to have stopped working. Then she called out across the deathly silence, 'Mac! I need you!' When she heard footsteps, she knew they had heard. How could they have not?

'Don't you need me?' asked Flack's cold voice from behind her. 'Or are you still keeping a 'low profile'?'

Steeling herself, Nicki shrugged, turning around.  
'Sure. Yeah You can help by locking this place down. Don't let anyone leave - the usual. I'll call it in.' When he didn't move, she asked in a business-like tone, 'Is there a problem, Detective?' She hated to be so detached – especially after she'd planned how to do this - but she knew her coldness would spur him into saying or doing something. And she really couldn't be personal at the moment.

'You're alive?' he asked, looking at her like he couldn't quite bring himself to believe it.

'No shit! Now, lock this place down so that no one leaves and I'll call it in.' When Flack didn't move, Nicki's eyes turned dark and stormy and, her voice thunderous, she spoke very clearly, 'That is an order. Move it.' As she saw something snap inside him, she mentally swore at herself before turning back to the crime scene. When she looked back, he wasn't there. 'Way to go,' she muttered to herself, kicking off her shoes and began securing the scene - by clearing everyone into some of the upstairs rooms. As soon as she was done, she pulled out her phone and made the call that should fire her.

* * *

**A/N: Like I mentioned up top, my PC died with the GOOD chapter on it and like the unsuspecting person that has no idea that her PC is going to die, I didn't back it up. More the fool me. Or whatever it is that you say. If you are going to review this and just say "This chapter was rubbish/too long/my eyes are bleeding/any-other-random-stuff-about-how-you-hate-it", I have a flame policy. Constructive criticism is welcome though. **

**'Til next time.  
Gracefullygothic.**


	3. Shine

**A/N: Yeah – I'm back. And by the way, the death of Jasmine was a bit lulzy, I know, but it was because I can't really write deaths that well. I'm one of those people who, when they watch Moulin Rouge, end up yelling for Satine to just get on with it and die. So here we go, here we go, here we go...**

* * *

Angell looked up as Danny approached her desk - she smiled at him, raising an eyebrow as he dropped a thick folder onto her desk. She glanced at the name on top of the folder and groaned, reluctant to even look at the first page.  
'We've been given the Forrest case?' There was an almost hopeful edge to Jess' voice - that maybe, if she was optimistic enough, it would be a sick joke Flack had asked Danny to carry out. She sighed when she saw Danny's grim expression. 'This is just so great - we're being sat on from great heights. Plus Mac's buddy-buddy with the head of the Forrest family. I guess we aren't allowed to screw this one up?' Angell asked rhetorically, running a hand through her hair.

Danny snorted, shaking his head, and perching on the edge of Angell's desk.  
'Well,' he sighed, 'when we've got the big guys sitting on us, we either do this properly or our asses will be on the sidewalk quicker than you can say "NYPD blue". You want to question the younger sisters; I'll take the older ones?'

'Do I have a choice? Anyway, which are the younger sisters?' Angell asked, thoughtful.

'Ruby Tracey Forrest - shady background - and one Nicki Gaia Forrest: federal agent with the American Secret Service, one of the best, glad to see we've got someone like this looking after our president – she's a real looker as well -'

'You're married!' Angell cried, playfully hitting him on the arm. 'You can't go around saying stuff like that! Especially when she's Mac's goddaughter!'

Danny's jaw dropped open, staring at the picture of Nicki that he held in front of him. He looked at Angell, eyes wide, before returning his gaze to the photograph.  
'Seriously? How the hell does Mac know Max Forrest so well that he gets to be godfather of Nicki?' Danny wondered, somewhat awestruck. 'Are you sure you wanna take these two? Might be a bit of a handful for you -'

Angell snorted derisively.  
'Oh please! You only want to swap because you want to check out these two - I'm sure Nicki has standards way above New York homicide detectives, Messer.'

Flack, who had heard this last part, smirked to himself, watching Angell from his desk. He crossed his fingers beneath the desk. Crossed them because he didn't want one of the greatest things in his life to be ruined by his past. Of course, he didn't think that Jess would break up with him because of a past relationship with a certain federal agent, but it could make things… awkward. Hopefully, Nicki wouldn't find out either - but what reason would she have to be jealous? She had obviously moved on very quickly, evident from the lack of communication over the past eight or so years. Flack shook himself, trying to keep the thoughts of Nicki from his mind. It didn't work when every thirty seconds at least on detective would mutter "Forrest". So Flack decided to leave the office, just for a while.

* * *

Unfortunately, his sister had other plans for him, almost jumping on him when he stepped outside the precinct.

'Don, we need to talk! Now,' she hissed, dragging him around the corner - Samantha was stronger than she looked. 'What the hell is going on? All I've heard on the local news is "Jasmine Forrest" this or that - and then I've got Mom ringing me up, telling me that Jasmine's been killed, murdered! And she's asking _me _whether I know what happened, which I obviously don't as the only Forrests I get on with are Ruby and Nicki, the magical disappearing act who has suddenly reappeared in New York from all the news reels I'm seeing! What's going on?'

Flack stared at his sister, eyebrows raised. He stayed silent, jaw tensed.

'C'mon, Don - you have to know what's going on, you went out with one of them for God's sake! Stop ignoring me - I'm worried!' Samantha attempted to shove her brother, to no avail. 'What the hell are you staring at me for?'

'I'm counting backwards from one hundred and fifty in two's. It's keeping me from punching the wall - don't disturb me, I'll answer you when I'm done, sis'.' Flack stated, a smile playing at the edges of his lips.

'God, you sounded like Dad then - seriously, you'll be the cause of my premature greying hair! Dad already does enough of this to me, for God's sake! And now - now, I'm being kicked out of my flat because they want to develop on the land. I have nowhere to live!" Samantha ranted, throwing her hands up into the air, almost wanting to cry from the unfairness of it all. She was stood here, in ripped jeans, an old t-shirt and one of her ex-boyfriend's jackets with trainers that had never seen a clean cloth, and all her brother could do was practise mental arithmetic.

'Stop stressing out, Samantha - I'm sure you could go and live with Mom and Dad again, they wouldn't mind. Or one of your friends might be willing to clear a space on their couch,' Flack suggested, leaning back against the damp wall, sighing. He had given up on counting backwards - he wasn't in the mood. And he was going to have to hear Sam's problems, one way or another. He looked at his sister with a level gaze. When he saw the pleading expression upon her face and the puppy dog eyes, he shook his head, holding up a single index finger. He wagged it in front of her. 'Oh, no! No, I know what you're thinking here and the answer is no! Not even wild ponies dragging me limb from limb could get me to agree to this one -'

'But -' Samantha began to protest, only to be cut off again by her sibling.

'There is no way in heaven or hell or limbo that you are moving in with me and Jess, Samantha Flack. No goddamned way - we all know how that went last time, don't we? I didn't have a flat left, thanks to your friends visiting you and bringing most of the liquor store with them,' Flack reminded her, his tone leaving no room for arguing.

'Fine! You might be able to say no to me,' Samantha smiled cruelly, 'but you can't argue with your own mother _and _father at the same time, can you?'

Flack groaned, kicking a flat stone across the alleyway. His mother and father would instantly side with Samantha on this subject. He had never won an argument with them yet - well, he had but that had only been with his father and had ended up meaning very little. Even with that argument won, his father had still been right. So, Flack glared at his sister, whom he was sure had not been born of his mother's womb but was spawn of the Devil. He jerked his head in the direction of the precinct and muttered,  
'Go and ask Jess - seeing as she's the one who I _asked _to live with me. And doesn't force her presence upon me – in fact, it might surprise you to know that I _like _her presence.'

* * *

Fortunately for Jessica, she had managed to escape the precinct before Samantha had gotten a chance to ask her. In fact, she was now sitting in Ruby Forrest's lounge, admiring a painting of a lake that hung on the wall, leaning back against a leather sofa that would be quite easy to sink into. Had a complete stranger been in Ruby Forrest's condo, they would not have been able to guess that the Forrest family had suffered a bereavement - well, there were no clues in this residence.  
'Miss Forrest, I'm sorry about your recent bereavement -'

'_Very_ recent bereavement. You get your job done quickly,' Ruby remarked, tucking a large strand of red hair behind her ear and taking a sip of her soda. 'Now, are you just here to tell me that you're sorry, something which you could have told at the funeral or over the phone, or are you actually going to ask some questions, like you usually do?'

Angell smiled warmly at Ruby - something about her amused Jessica. Like there was a hard shell around Ruby, but underneath was soft and good-natured and funny. Jessica was trying to break through the hard shell, which was seemingly harder than it looked.  
'You seem to know a lot about my line of work,' Angell murmured, watching Ruby carefully as she sat opposite her.

'I have a sister who is a federal agent - I suppose you pick things up when you're as close to her as I am. So ask your questions.' It almost sounded like a command.

'Did your sister have any enemies?'

'A few - by the way, your cell is going off,' Ruby pointed at Angell's jacket pocket, in which her cell was indeed buzzing.

Jessica smiled politely, checking the screen, groaning when she did so.  
'Please excuse for a moment.' She opened up the text message on her screen, reading it over and over again. 'There is no way in hell I am letting Samantha Flack live with -'

'Wait,' Ruby interjected loudly, smiling at Sam's name, 'did you say Samantha Flack wants to room with you? And you don't want her to?' Smile growing wider as Angell repeated that there was no way in hell of Sam living with her, a plan formed in Ruby's mind. 'Well, this is a relatively small apartment but my sister - Nicki, not sure if you've met her yet - owns a huge penthouse worth at least a million – maybe two or three - and she's got plenty of room. Why don't you ask her? I know those two go way back - by the way, how exactly do you know Samantha?' Ruby asked suddenly, curiosity peaking.

'Oh, I'm Don's girlfriend,' Angell replied, a slight smile upon her face. 'What about you?'

If Ruby had been drinking anything, it would have been spat out all over the floor by now. Or she would have been choking. But seeing as she had not been drinking anything, she made do with her eyes popping out of her head and therefore, looking like a frog that was having their head squeezed in a vice.  
'Oh... really? Well, Sam's an... Old... she's an old friend of the family...' Ruby blinked several times, fighting away the surprise of sitting across from Flack's girlfriend. 'Are you going to ask your questions then?'

Angell nodded, asking questions politely and receiving polite answers. When she left, she definitely felt like something strange had just happened. She just couldn't decide on what.

* * *

Nicki stared at her sister and the woman standing next to her. There were no words in either Hebrew or English that could describe her blatant disbelief at what her sister had already planned without telling the very tenant of this penthouse. She smiled at Samantha, allowing her in and directing her towards the sofas. But when it was Ruby's turn to enter the flat, Nicki slammed her hand across the door frame, causing the wall to shake slightly and barring Ruby from entering.  
'What, in God's almighty name - even if I don't believe in his bearded presence - do you think you are doing, Ruby? You said Sam could move in with me - _why_?' Nicki hissed, keeping her voice sinisterly low. She was very intimidating when she wanted to be.

'Sam needs a place to stay, Nicki - and your ex-boyfriend and his girlfriend won't let her room with them! C'mon, please, just do it - it'll get that ex of yours to listen to you?' Ruby pleaded. 'And that's what you want isn't it? To get your dear old -'

'Finish that sentence, and you'll be the next Forrest to be buried!' Nicki snapped, almost shaking with fury. 'In case you forgot, we're all having a pretty tough week - our sister _died_ and you want me to look after someone else's? What the Hell, Ruby? What were you thinking? I found out I was rooming with her from some Detective Angell - nice woman, got on my nerves a bit - and I thought it was some joke. And now... Well, it was nice to be told about _my_ living arrangements by some homicide detective.' Eventually, Nicki's blaze of fury trailed off to a quiet roar of flames and she took her arm away from the door frame, allowing her sister inside, before closing the door with a sharp flick of her wrist. Taking very deliberate and measured steps, she made her way over to Samantha. With a deep breath, she drew herself up, so she looked like she was happy about this new arrangement. 'How are you, Samantha? Not seen you in a long time.' She threw a glare at her sister before perching on the edge of one of her leather armchairs.

'Oh, I've been good, life's going... well, you can kind of guess,' Sam snorted, 'otherwise I wouldn't be throwing myself at your feet or begging people to take me in!'

Nicki raised an eyebrow at Ruby, muttering darkly,  
'Don't worry, Sam - _you_ aren't throwing yourself at my feet. _You_ aren't _begging_ for my mercy!' Her eyes flashed dangerously at Ruby, before standing up and picking up Sam's bags. 'Make yourself at home - I'll take these to your room and give you the grand tour later. Ruby, entertain Sammie - I'm sure you can cook up some food or get her a drink.' As Ruby began to protest, Nicki mouthed, '_My_ mercy, remember?' She smirked, amused, when Ruby groaned, and carried both of Samantha's holdall through to the spare bedroom. The room wasn't exactly small, with a king sized bed in the middle of it, a flat screen HDTV, a spacious wardrobe and an en suite. Dumping the bags onto the floor next to the bed, Nicki leant against the door frame, closing her eyes. Just like always, she was assaulted by the sight of her sister's pale, waxy, cold face, surrounded by her beautiful brown locks of hair. And, just like every other time, Nicki's eyelids flew back open. Gulping loudly, she closed the door behind her, ignoring that her entire body was quietly quaking and re-joined Samantha and Ruby in the lounge.

'You okay, Nicki?' Ruby asked immediately - it was harder to be paler than Nicki's normal complexion, but somehow, Nicki had managed to go whiter than a sheet and look like Death warmed up - badly.

Samantha looked at Nicki, whistling lowly.  
'You look like crap, Nicki!' she remarked, feet up on the coffee table in front of her - she could get very used to this apartment. 'Come and have some of this pizza.' She patted the seat next to her, grinning up at her.

Nicki smiled tightly, sitting down. Pizza? How long had her eyes been closed for? However, as she was about to pick up a slice of the pizza, she caught herself, withdrawing her hand quickly. She glared accusingly at her sister, who was flicking through television channels.  
'Ruby,' she began, dragging her sister's name out to an annoying length - it was petty but it amused Nicki when Ruby turned to face her, irritated. 'Where did the pizza come from? I didn't have any casually lying around when you came in... Please tell me this thing isn't frozen. Because it wouldn't be very heal-'

'Chill, Nicki!' Ruby cried exasperatedly. 'Sometimes I wonder how you don't have problems with high blood pressure or haven't punched a wall yet –'

'I have.'

'Or someone –'

'I have.'

'...The pizza is fine - I ordered it on the way here! I thought that the three of us could throw a party to lighten up the mood and to make sure the Sam remembers her first day here. The first one is pepperoni.'

Nicki shrugged, smiling - even if she was mentally counting to ten in as many different languages as she could. Picking up a slice, and tearing off an edge, she chewed thoughtfully. As she slowly realised what her sister had said, her eyes slid down towards her head. Nicki gulped, swallowing the her food, and spoke very quietly.  
'Ruby, how many pizzas did you order?'

It was Ruby's turn to gulp, as she and Samantha exchanged worried looks.  
'N'manyabout'enny-ee,' she garbled below her breath, trying to avoid her sister's unwavering glare that could wither even a dead plant.

'Pardon?' Nicki growled, sliding closer and closer to her, until she was on the edge of her seat. 'In _English_...'

'Not many... about...' Ruby's voice trailed off, staying silently until she was prompted in a more threatening tone of voice by her sister, 'twenty-three? From different companies.'

Pause.

'I suppose now wouldn't be the right time to tell you that the detective heading the investigation is Flack's girlfriend?' Ruby asked warily.

* * *

'So,' Flack asked, with a small smile on his face, 'who's Sam staying with?' He was admiring the patience and resolve of the person who had agreed to take his sister in and survived over an hour with her so far. And he was also admiring his girlfriend's legs, as she had them on his desk.

'An old family friend of yours - lives in a penthouse, works for the Secret Service.' Angell shrugged. 'She seemed nice enough when I was talking to her – maybe a little cold. It only took fifteen minutes for me to get there from Ruby Forrest's condo to Nicki's penthouse - light traffic,' she remarked thoughtfully.

Flack sat bolt upright, seemingly choking on thin air. When he regained the ability of speech, he managed to cough out,  
'Samantha - my little sister - is living with _Nicki_?' He stared disbelievingly at Jessica as she nodded warily. 'You let Samantha move in with Nicki Forrest?'

'Yeah – Nicki was really happy about it. A little surprised that I knew but happy nevertheless,' Jess explained, a warm yet slightly strained smile upon her face, as she tried to find some explanation for her boyfriend's growing anger. 'What, is she an assassin or something? Is her file a fake and she's a terrorist?' Angell asked, slightly worried.

Flack shook his head, fighting back a smile.  
'Nope, neither - well, she might be the first, just a legal one. But I can't really say much Do you have the address of... Nicki's-' He felt slightly awkward saying her name. '-penthouse? I'd like to go and talk to Samantha.' _And give Nicki a piece of my mind before she disappears again._

* * *

**So yeah... that's the end of this chapter. Sorry I'm so bad at updating this thing, I've had a lot on my plate recently, being a monkey handler etc, etc... The usual. Sorry if it's too long and it ends strangely, I didn't know how to end this chapter but I know how I wanted to open the next one, so... Hopefully the next few will be better?  
Adios,  
Grace**


	4. The Ballad of Mona Lisa

**A/N: Plot bunnies chewing up brain. As are the keyboard monkeys and idea unicorns. Must complete this chapter.**

* * *

Nicki opened the door after Flack's first knock. She looked at him, a frown fixed on her face as she thought of all possible ways to handle the situation and rated them all, in order of probable effectiveness. She decided just to let him into the apartment as her brain wasn't working particularly well - it was concentrating on trying to keep the image of her dead sister out of her mind. Which wasn't working.

'You know,' Flack snapped, storming into the penthouse, 'I was half-expecting that you were going to ignore me until I went away.' He looked at his sister, who was spread out on the carpet in front of the huge plasma screen. 'Seems happy.'

'You would not believe how happy,' Nicki muttered darkly in response, shaking her head when Flack raised his eyebrows. 'She won't stop talking but then again, neither will my own sister. And I'd never give her a reason to be unhappy. So, this about Sam in general or about Sam living with _me_?'

Flack almost found himself smiling - Nicki hadn't lost the skill of being able to read him like a book. He had expected that maybe nine years of absence may have blunted them but obviously not. He quickly recovered his stony mask of discontent, folding his arms and jerking his head at the woman standing in front of him then jerking his head at his little sister.

Nicki raised her own eyebrows this time, shaking her head - she was none the wiser.  
'Is that a "I want to speak to you" or a "I want to speak to Samantha" series of nods?' she asked, hands in the pockets of her jeans.

'I want to speak to you. In private,' Flack added, noticing how dark the shadows were beneath Nicki's eyes. They made her look as if she was suffering from an intense illness.

Nicki nodded, shrugging, leading Flack to her study. It was furnished with tall bookcases, an ornate desk and chair, with the screensaver on Nicki's iMac glowing at them in greeting. In the corner of the room stood a Clavinova, the light from the window bouncing off the keys; next to that, a drum kit. Nicki decided to sit on the piano stool, motioning to the desk chair for Flack to sit on.  
'So.' was all she said.

'"So"?' Flack repeated, voice shaking slightly. 'Nine years without a word from you and all you have to say is "so"? That's all you're going to say?' He stared at her, trying to find some trace of the Nicki he had known, who had never been so... cold.

'Actually, my first words to you were "sure" and "yeah",' Nicki recited, leaning an elbow on the top of her piano. When Flack narrowed his eyes, she shrugged. 'I'm a federal agent - it's my job to remember things. And if our meeting had been under better circumstances, then my first word to you would've been "hey" or "sorry".' She emphasised the last word. 'So I'll just get that out there.'

'You always did speak your mind.' Flack didn't take his eyes off Nicki, who matched his gaze with her own leaf green eyes. They were still striking. He was glad that hadn't changed, like everything else so obviously had.

'You'd know,' Nicki replied, an edge to her voice. 'You dated me for four years,' she reminded him, frowning when he snorted. 'What?'

'You make it sound like you had no choice in the matter,' Flack told her, watching her smile slowly.

'_We _dated for four years, then,' Nicki corrected herself. 'And I know what you're thinking and I was not acting or lying for those four years -'

'Forgive me if I'm finding that hard to believe right now,' Flack told her, his voice bitter. He looked at Nicki, surveying her critically - apart from a small change in her height and other obvious things, she hadn't really changed that much. Yes, her hair was slightly longer than it had been and she was thinner (which only aided the fact that she looked severely ill) but there were no major changes that he could see. In fact, for a federal agent, she seemed remarkably unscathed on the surface.

'What excuse do you have to think my heart wasn't really in it?' Nicki asked plainly. 'That was before all of this.'

Flack shrugged. He didn't know what to believe about Nicki anymore and he told her as much, gaining a resigned sigh from her.

'Look, if I hadn't been there the other night, would you still think that I'd been... acting for those four years?' Nicki's fingers began to stroke the piano keys - she had a tendency to do that when she was stressed in her study.

Flack thought about this for a second before replying.  
'I would have thought that it was genuine,' he replied truthfully.

'Then keep it that way in your mind, please,' Nicki requested quietly. 'You can think whatever you want of me but up until the age of nineteen, I was pure and honest.'

'If pure and honest means -'

'I said "up until the age of nineteen",' Nicki reminded him, her voice becoming slightly steely. 'After that, then yes, it means I became someone you wouldn't want to socialise with and would probably report to the police. For two years.'

'Two years?' Flack asked, confused - why only act out for two years? Then again, he did suppose that acting out for only a week when you were a Forrest was more than enough for a lifetime of disgrace; if that conclusion was right, then Nicki had truly rebelled.

'I came back to America when I was twenty-one - I'd been living abroad for a hile while.'

'With your mom?' Flack asked, watching Nicki stiffen and clench her fists. 'Obviously not, from that reaction.'

'For all I remember, I don't know if my mother is still alive. Nor do I care,' Nicki reminded him bluntly, absently pressing a finger down on the high C. The electric piano didn't make a sound – it hadn't been turned on in weeks. 'But yeah, I was abroad for a couple of years and I came back when I was twenty-one.'

'So you've been in New York for seven years?' Flack asked, only just managing to string a coherent sentence together. His combined shock and fury were enough to make anyone struggle to string words together. He frowned when she shook her head. 'What do you mean, "no"?'

'I mean that just because I have been in America for seven years doesn't mean I was in New York for that same length of time - when I came back, I was living in Washington, D.C., for a few years before I joined the Secret Service, which was when I was twenty-five... I've been switching between D.C. and New York for a few years now. Been living here permanently for about a year, a year and a half.'

'And you couldn't have called from Washington?' Flack had calmed down slightly but he wasn't going to let that show. He was angry with Nicki and that was all that mattered right now.

Nicki glared at Flack, the first sign of any genuine emotion she had shown during this conversation. She raised a finger, a mock thoughtful expression on her face, sarcasm in her voice.  
'Well, I could have... But I didn't want to. Maybe I couldn't. Shove that in your pipe and smoke it,' she muttered darkly, just loud enough for her visitor to hear.

Against all of his wishes, Flack found himself grinning, shaking his head.  
'That's really mature of you, Nix. What, are you going to stick your tongue out next?'

Nicki's eyes lit up and she smiled widely.  
'Actually, that's not a half-bad idea. Anyway, my sister died a few days ago and it looks like I'm going to have my own little sister sleeping at my home tonight so forgive me if I use immaturity – among other things - as a coping mechanism. And you're not feeling so infuriated anymore!' she accused, still smiling.

'Yes, I am,' Flack replied instantly.

Nicki shook her head, an amused look on her face.  
'Oh, come on, we both know you're lying about that. Remember, I dated you for four years.' She paused thoughtfully, adding, 'Now, I'm making it sound like you had no choice in the matter.' She caught Flack's eye and smiled wryly. 'Listen, I really am sorry about everything that happened and I know that isn't going to smooth anything over right now -'

'It's a start.' Flack stated, to both his own and Nicki's surprise. He raised his eyebrows in surprise. 'I'm confused and still pretty angry about all of this right now - do you even want to salvage our friendship?'

Nicki nodded.  
'Of course I do.' She paused before admitting, 'I just don't how it'd work though. I mean, I'm a fed, you're a cop - that immediately means we're supposed to hate each other; plus... stuff,' she added in an uncomfortable tone.

'"Stuff"?' Flack asked with raised eyebrows. 'What does that mean?'

'Stuff! You know, stuff...' When Flack continued to look at Nicki with a blank expression on his face, she sighed, elaborating. 'Well, we used to date and everybody else knows that and you're dating Angell -'

Flack began to cough loudly.  
'You... you know about that?' he asked.

Nicki nodded.  
'Yeah, Ruby told me. Then Samantha did - go you!' Nicki grinned widely at him, hitting another key with her index finger. 'She's really pretty and witty and… nice.' She laughed at the dark look on Flack's face.

'Are you done quoting things which sound disturbingly familiar or do I have to sit through more?' he asked.

'You always were a little ray of sunshine,' Nicki replied sarcastically. 'Anyway, she's pretty cool - for a cop. Not as cool as Mac though, even though I may be legally required to say that to his colleagues,' she remarked thoughtfully, a small smile on her face when Flack gave her his "can-you-elaborate-for-me?" gaze. 'Mac is my godfather! How the Hell you two didn't meet each other way back then, I don't know.'

'Might've had something to do with your dad not liking me and never knowingly letting me in the house when his friends were there,' Flack suggested, to Nicki's supposed amusement. 'What's so funny?'

'Nothing. It's more... irony,' Nicki answered, closing her eyes very briefly. 'He hates _me_.'

Flack stared concernedly at Nicki, asking quietly,  
'What does he hate you for?'

'He blames Jas' death on me.' she told him shortly, changing the subject quickly before anything else could be said. Secretly, she was starting to blame herself as well. 'So, what are we doing about us?' She opened her eyes, trying to look halfway alert for this important topic. She wanted to sleep so much... but she couldn't. Or wouldn't let herself.

'Baby steps?' Flack suggested, noticing how exhausted Nicki was. She looked like Death warmed up in a second rate, second-hand microwave. That had failed halfway through. He gave Nicki an attempt at a small smile as she nodded. 'At least we can attempt to salvage something.'

'Don't put all your eggs in one basket - you said yourself that you're still confused,' Nicki reminded him.

'Don't you want to be friends?' Flack asked sharply.

'Of course I do - I'm just being realistic. Or pessimistic. Certainly not optimistic.'

'Where's the happy-go-lucky, "doesn't give a damn" girl I knew gone to?' Flack wanted to know, a bemused look on his face.

'She had a reality check.' Nicki sighed. 'I think your sister wants to know what's in store for her,' she hinted. She stood up, grabbing a jacket off the back of the study door and pulling it on. 'I've got somewhere to go anyway.' She opened the door, walking into the living area and whispering in Ruby's ear, 'Stop being so hostile - I can feel it coming off you in waves.' She glared at Ruby when she opened her mouth to argue. 'I'm going out for a while.'

* * *

Ruby watched her sister leave, not taking her eyes from the door even when it had closed. There was no point in asking where she had gone - she already knew where her sister had gone to as evening turned into night. Ruby sighed, slightly aware of Samantha leaving the room. Unlike her full-blooded sister, Ruby remembered her time in Israel and knew when Nicki was reaching her internal breaking point. With a pang of worry, Ruby knew that it would be sooner rather than later when Nicki reached a point could not handle any more. The fireworks were less than pretty.

* * *

Will looked at his family, all present apart from Ruby and his father - he knew where Ruby was and he didn't care where his father was. Probably out with another one of his conquests, half his age. Sat at the head of the table, he felt like a crime boss. He pressed the tips of his fingers together, smiling - he could get used to this, with the plush furniture and flickering candles.

'Careful, people, Will's ego is growing,' Kaitlin teased, giving him a small smile. 'Right, so we're here to discuss the funeral arrangements for Jasmine -'

'Without our father,' Adelah noted, frowning as she looked at Nicki coolly. 'It's like a trade-off, I suppose - we either have our _dear_ sister Nicki here or have our _beloved_ father with us. How _do _we choose?' Venom dripped from Adelah's words - she, like her father, blamed Nicki for Jasmine's death. 'I know which one I'd choose.'

Nicki glared at her sister, rain dripping from her eyelashes. Beneath the table, she curled her hands into fists and her fingernails bit into the palms of her hands.  
'Stop talking, Adelah, and let Kay and Will talk.' She nodded and her eldest siblings carried on talking.

'Thank you, Nicki,' Will said gratefully to the sister that was sat on his left hand side. He turned his gaze to Adelah, who was shooting poisonous looks at Nicki, warning, 'If you carry on doing that, I will cut you out of my will.'

Adelah's eyes lit up.  
'I'm in it?' she asked excitedly.

Will sighed, shaking his head and simply looked at Kaitlin.

Kaitlin gave a short laugh and explained simply,  
'Will didn't think that you were going to call his bluff, Adel. Anyway, we all know that Dad will throw one of his tantrums if anyone he doesn't think is appropriate shows their face. So, what are we going to do?' She motioned her hands in such a way that everyone knew it was an open question.

Sophie shrugged, speaking as if the answer should be obvious.  
'We don't tell them,' she said simply, frowning as Nicki and Will snorted. 'Something has obviously amused the two of you; please feel free to share it.'

Will shook his head, looking directly at her. He had suspected that Sophie would have said something like that.  
'You don't understand, Sophie - Dad only wants the family there, a few high-ranking officials and _none _of her friends. All of the people that knew her as she was, were closer to her than we were, our father does not want them there. I mean, he doesn't even want any of them to be in the vicinity of the cemetery. So, we're going to have to do something else with them.'

'You don't seriously mean that you're going to go against our father's wishes?'

All the other occupants of the room gave Adelah an incredulous look and Will said slowly,  
'You say that as if you're surprised. Now, if you want to go and run to our father about this, then go right ahead. Just know that you can't stop us.' When Adelah shot him a sulky look, he smiled and clapped his hands together. 'Right, we'll organise something at one of the regular haunts of Jas' - and yes, Adelah, it probably will be "some seedy bar" filled with "those weird people" so no, we don't expect you to come. Nicki, could you get the word out to her friends and find a spot?'

Nicki nodded her consent.  
'Sure thing. I live for shaking up my father's comfort zone.'

'Did it a bit literally this time, Nicki,' Adelah hissed, crying out when her chair toppled backwards with her still on it.

Sophie winked at Nicki across the table.

'Might want to check that chair out, Adelah. It seems that weight of your skull pulled it down.' With a satisfied smile upon her face, Kaitlin turned to her brother. 'Okay, so we're sticking to the plan otherwise then?'

Will nodded.

'What's the plan, William?' Adelah asked huffily as she picked herself back up, smoothing out the creases on her dress and flicking off the dust.

The other siblings exchanged cryptic smiles and Kaitlin simply promised,  
'You'll see, Adelah, you'll see.'

* * *

**A/N: So, that's this chapter, apologies for the wait! I didn't really get into this one until the end of it, so apologies if it feels a little lacking. Blame writer's block! I'll try to be better with updating though  
Until next time, my faithful readers,  
Grace**


	5. Let's Kill Tonight

**A/N: Apologies for my terrible updating skills with this story. I've been watching reruns, attempting to get even a little inspiration until the next series comes to the UK. Living here sucks sometimes i.e. the weather; crappy sports teams; getting TV shows later on. But sometimes it rules i.e. the weather (30 C in October - go English "autumn" and TV shows (Merlin and Doctor Who!)... That's basically it. Anyway, enough of my rambling - here's the chapter!**

* * *

Nicki watched, completely expressionless, as her Jas' coffin was lowered into the ground. She couldn't help but feel some sense of responsibility. It was only magnified under her father's unwavering glare. She simply kept quiet as she dropped a single rose onto the surface of the coffin and headed over towards her brother, who was offering hugs to everyone and anyone. Especially if they had no idea who he was. Nicki smiled as he let go of a petite blonde to sweep his black haired sister into a fierce hug.  
'Thank you,' she muttered.

'No problem, Nix.' Tears silently rolled from Will's eyes into the top of his sister's head.

Nicki looked up at him, an eyebrow raised.  
'How the heck are we supposed to keep strong when our own brother is a shipwrecked mess?' she asked, a teasing note to her voice, sighing and resting her head against his shoulder. 'It's so final.'

'Not if "Night of The Living Dead" actually comes true,' Will quipped, grinning as Nicki shoved him and he turned to Kaitlin and her daughter. 'Where's the husband?'

Kaitlin gave Will a small smile, gazing down at her sleeping baby.  
'He's in Hawaii at the moment, though he does send his condolences. Now, what were you saying about that Romero film?' she asked, a small smile on her face.

'Oh, I was just lightening the mood,' Will said hastily, turning around when he saw that the blonde was still stood behind him. 'You need something else?'

Nicki followed his gaze, a small smile appearing on her face as she recognised the small woman.  
'Miss... Marshall, isn't it?'

Louisa Marshall nodded, her tight blonde curls bobbing up and down and speaking in an almost whispered tone.  
'Yes, Miss Forrest – I'm here to represent my employer; to send his condolences, as well as my own. We were truly shocked by your sister's death.' As she turned to walk out of the cemetery, she stopped, having remembered another piece of information. 'Also, he says that you should show your face more often down at the office seeing as your partner does so often.'

Nicki's smile grew slightly wider and she nodded graciously.  
'Thank you, Miss Marshall, I'll be sure to. When does he get back to New York?' Nicki could feel the gazes of her siblings on her.

'Next Monday,' Louisa answered primly.

'I'll probably drop in on the Wednesday then,' Nicki concluded. 'Thank you for coming, Louisa – it's appreciated.' As Louisa left, Nicki turned to face Kaitlin's gaze. 'Is there something wrong?'

Kaitlin pursed her lips, nodding at Louisa's shrinking figure.  
'Who was she?'

'A friend,' Nicki answered far too quickly.

'You have hot friends, sis',' Will remarked, a smile growing across his face as he watched Louisa's legs move. 'Is she involved?'

'I've never known you to ask that question before, Will.' Flack had suddenly appeared behind Nicki; the two law enforcement officers exchanged a nod.

Will laughed, shaking his head.  
'Those days are over, dude –'

'I'm glad to hear, it'd be kinda ... disturbing if you picked up eighteen year olds,' Nicki reminded him, taking Adora from Kaitlin, whose phone had just rung. She smiled sweetly at her brother, who glared at her.

'And it'd be kind of disturbing if you still went around picking fights with them,' Will growled.

'I didn't pick the fight with Sarah, did I? She picked it with me.' Nicki cried, lowering her voice sharply when Kaitlin looked pointedly at the sleeping baby in her little sister's arms. 'Sarah was a good three years older than me – what does that tell you?' She smiled at the baby, gently rocking her backwards and forwards.

'That my taste back then was extremely poor?' Flack suggested, looking across the cemetery at Max, where he was involved in a heated argument with Mac.

'Yeah, it was.' Will winked at Nicki, sticking out his tongue. 'Ha – that'll teach you to call me a creep in future.'

Nicki shrugged.  
'Why am I bothered? I'm dating a – Nobody. I'm dating nobody. Anyway,' she said quickly, 'I only implied that you were creepy – and Don, the fact that she lost a fight to a fifteen year old completely tells us all that yeah, you did have terrible taste.'

Will grinned, a sort of vacant expression upon his face.  
'I forgot that you beat her up –'

'How could you forget that? She didn't let it drop for a good few months. It was her first victory – of many. Including being captain of the cheerleading team,' Flack teased, quickly dodging out of the way of Nicki's heel.

'What is this, attend a funeral and tease your sister day?' Nicki grumbled as they started to move towards to the gates, where all the various cars were, glancing at Kaitlin – she concluded, from the amount of affection in her voice, that Kaitlin was either talking to her own mother or her husband. As Mac joined them, she smiled at him. 'Hey there, Mac.'

'Hey.' From the way his face was set and how he had almost snapped at his goddaughter, it was clear that Max had angered him deeply.

'Whoa, some of us want to keep our heads, Mac – what's up?' Nicki asked concerned, handing a slowly waking Adora to her Uncle Will, who handled the baby as if she were a bomb.

'Your father has a stick shoved up his ass, that's what,' Mac found himself growling.

'Try a thick branch,' Nicki advised.

Kaitlin covered the mouthpiece of her phone, calling over to her family,  
'More like a tree!'

Will coughed, a sure sign that he was about to be dramatic.  
'I think we can safely conclude,' he spoke in an overly-theatrical voice, causing Nicki to groan inwardly – Will hadn't even had anything to drink yet, 'that our father has the entire forest – pardon the pun – residing in his ass.' He looked at Adora, who was smiling with an amused look on her face, and grinned. He held his niece up so that she was on eye level with him and said, 'Your gramps has an entire, thorny, spiky forest up his ass, oh yes, he does!'

'You do realise,' Flack warned Will slowly, 'that if she can understand you, as soon as Adora learns how to form full sentences, she's going to ask Max where the forest is?'

The group burst into laughter, attracting the attention of Max, who glared at them. Kaitlin shrugged, hanging up.  
'It'll be a fun situation, it's not like we're his favourite children anyway. Well, I say that but I could probably get away with murder –' She grinned wryly when Nicki coughed lightly. 'I take that back – I could murder someone then be promptly put away by my sister.'

Nicki shrugged.  
'Job description, Kay – are you going to take Adora off your brother before or after he turns her brain to mush?' she enquired, answering her work cell phone as it rang incessantly. She read the caller I.D. and groaned. 'What is it, Harding? No, you can't just... I don't even know why I bother. I don't care! No – listen, can we talk about you pushing off work another time? I don't know - maybe never?' She could feel her family and friends looking at her – she suddenly wished that she was in a cartoon and could stick her hands down the phone and throttle her partner. She paled slightly – a difficult task to achieve – as she heard what else Special Agent Matthew Harding had to say. 'What?' she cried. 'No, it's just that you're supposed to be in Washington at the moment – don't pull that crap, you didn't even know her. Whatever, I'm not covering for you.' She swiftly ended the call, quickening her pace. She was well aware that someone ran to catch up with her.

'Who was that?' Flack asked, looking down at Nicki. He held up his hands in what could have either been a defensive or innocent gesture when Nicki frowned at him. 'I'm trying to be your friend – I figured that seeing what that was about is a start.'

'Yeah, it is.' The frown became deeper. 'And that was my partner – work partner,' Nicki clarified. 'He's bunking off today, wants me to cover for him because he's coming to Jasmine's real wake.'

'"Real wake"?' Flack repeated warily – he had heard Nicki use that tone before, when planning one of Ruby's birthday parties – it had almost gone disastrously wrong. 'What do you mean?'

'Be at this club –' Nicki handed Flack a black and red business card. '- at eight tonight. It's for people who really cared about her.'

* * *

Ruby bounced over towards Mac, a glass of champagne in her hand.  
'So, what's the name of the stick that Dad has up his ass?' she asked, tongue planted firmly in cheek. She found the whole situation strangely amusing, what with the way her father found no one close to Nicki that would accept his argument that Jasmine's death was Nicki's fault. 'Arguments are fun – I want in!' she declared, making Mac laugh.

He shook his head, smiling tightly.  
'It's nothing... Just your father has the audacity to blame Nicki for this. I mean,' he added in a growl, 'she wasn't the only law enforcement officer there that night. Why isn't he blaming me or Stella or Flack?'

Ruby smiled sadly, leaning against the panelled wall, taking a sip of champagne.  
'Yes but you're forgetting something: Nicki has always been the first one any of us looked to for protection – Dad knows that and he thinks that Nicki might be lashing out by "shirking her responsibilities",' she quoted, adding quickly at Mac's murderous glare, 'that's what Max said – totally not my views on the matter! And he'd never blame you because you're his friend and Nicki's godfather; he won't blame Stella because he's always had a soft spot for her... And Don?' Ruby paused, sighing. She answered slowly, between sips of her champagne. 'I think Dad blames enough on him already.'

'Like what?' Mac asked, watching Nicki and Will converse in the corner of the first reception room – whenever another person who wasn't part of their family came over to speak to them, they would stop quickly, listen to whatever this new person had to say, wait until they had disappeared and then carry on with their previous conversation. Mac almost choked on his own drink (of sparkling water) when he heard what Ruby had to say.

'Nicki and Don used to date – quite seriously. Anyway, Dad blames him for Nicki's disappearance.' Ruby eyed Mac warily as he spluttered. 'Something wrong, Mac?'

'What do you mean,' the detective choked out, 'that Nicki and Flack – Don Flack – used to _date_?'

Realisation dawned on Ruby's face and her mouth formed into a perfect "o".  
'Oh, you didn't know, did you? Dad always tried to keep Don out of the house whenever friends came to visit. I say "tried" because of that little track through the trees and down towards the old mausoleum at the back of the house,' Ruby added wryly. 'Nicki always sneaked out that way.'

'Oh...' Well, you really did learn something new every day, Mac supposed. 'That's... interesting. How come Jasmine isn't being put in the mausoleum – it seems a little easier, doesn't it?' he remarked.

Ruby snorted.  
'Yeah, if Jasmine hadn't specifically requested to not be buried there – the place always did creep her out. As it did me.' Ruby shuddered.

'What about Will and Nicki?' Mac could have guessed the answer anyway – he just liked a little confirmation.

Ruby laughed shortly.  
'Will locked Nicki in when she was eight – she practically made it a second home in that hour. She and Will used to frequent that place quite a lot for the next two years, as an escape from the multiple stepmothers. I would have joined them but the place was covered in cobwebs. And my father's conquests never did seem to have a problem with me or any of the others too much.'

'Because _you _hardly ever spoke as a child,' Mac reminded her with a small grin, turning as he was tapped on the shoulder. He smiled at his goddaughter, giving her a quick hug. 'Hey, Nix – you need something?' he asked, noticing the business cards in her hands.

Nicki nodded, returning the hug and sliding a card into Mac's free hand.  
'It's a notice Jasmine's wake later on tonight,' she informed Mac, explaining when Mac was about to open his mouth to point out that they were already at a wake for Jasmine. 'None of Jasmine's friends are here but they'll be at this one, later on tonight. It's the way Jasmine would have been wanted to be remembered,' Nicki assured him with a smile.

Mac looked at the business card – he had heard of this club, notorious for a drugs bust or five going down there.  
'I don't know, Nicki... This place –'

'It's cleaned up its act, Mac, I promise,' Nicki told him. 'If it hadn't, why else would I be a patron?' She raised her eyebrows, smiling widely when Mac reluctantly sighed and nodded. 'Thank you – it would mean a lot to Jas! Ruby, I'll see you there, right?' She looked expectantly at her only little sister.

Ruby shook her head, shrugging.  
'I don't know, I've got work tomorrow morning,' she told them.

'If you told me the name of your boss, we could lean on her,' Nicki offered, exchanging a look with Mac.

'Who's "we"?' Ruby asked, smirking.

'Me, Harding, Ed – I suspect that he wouldn't pass on the opportunity – and anybody else that wanted to join in,' Nicki informed her sister, grinning as Mac nodded his agreement.

Ruby looked flattered, blushing slightly.  
'That's really nice of you but I doubt my employer will respond kindly and we don't all have one of Manhattan's top lawyers as a boyfriend, do we now, Nicki?' Ruby reminded her sister, who flushed with colour as Mac stared at her.

'He's not my boyfriend –'

'You've just been out on a lot of 'business meetings' with him over the past year and a half, then?' Ruby asked dryly.

Nicki glared at her sister, repeating,  
'He's not my boyfriend! Anyway, if you can't make it tonight, don't feel bad. She'd understand.' She kissed Mac on the cheek before leaving.

When his goddaughter was safely (for the two of them) out of earshot, Mac instantly asked,  
'What's the name of the lawyer Nicki "isn't" dating?'

Ruby stifled a laugh, replying slowly,  
'His name is Edward Wilkes, about thirty-five, brown hair, brown eyes, _really _good looking. She _isn't _dating one of the only decent lawyers in New York. Decent in _all _ways,' Ruby added with a wink. She couldn't help herself.

* * *

Danny caught up to Angell as she strode through the crime lab.  
'Angell! Have you seen Flack today? He's supposed to be watching the game with me later.'

From experience, Jess knew not to smirk at the mere suggestion of a bromance going on between Messer and her boyfriend. So, keeping a calm facade, she merely nodded and casually answered Daniel's question.  
'Yeah, he's at Jasmine Forrest's funeral – I think he knew her somehow.' Angell shrugged. 'Who am I to question the movement of the high class New York social circles and how my boyfriend is involved with them?' she joked, noticing Danny try and stifle a laugh – a short chuckle escaped the CSI though. Angell frowned. 'What's so funny?'

Danny quickly shook his head.  
'It's nothing. Nothing!' he repeated firmly when Angell raised her eyebrows. As he walked away, thinking he was out of Angell's earshot, he muttered, 'Wouldn't have thought she would be comfortable with him being in close quarters with his ex. Especially a Forrest.'

Unfortunately for Danny, Angell heard this and stopped him in his tracks.  
'Did you just say that one of the Forrest's was his _ex-girlfriend_?' Angell asked, somewhere between irritation and disbelief – why had she only just found out about this and, even though it was cruel, how could Don Flack have ever ended up with an A-list New Yorker like the Forrests so obviously were?

Danny sighed, nodding – he had really dropped himself in it. He had a feeling that when Flack heard about this admission, Daniel would need to be wearing his Kevlar vest 24/7. Flack had practically sworn Messer to secrecy – Flack had said that he "would tell Jess himself, if he ever felt he needed to".  
'Yeah, but it was years ago. She took off quite suddenly –'

'Which sister was it?' Angell was starting to feel competitive now. She was obviously better than whichever Forrest Flack had previously dated but then again, he was still obviously good friends with the family, seeing as he was at the funeral and not at the precinct. With the ex and not with her.

Danny quickly shook his head, trying to escape – Angell swiftly blocked his path.

'Which sister?' Angell repeated, surprising not only Messer but herself when her question came out in a growl.

Danny actually found himself gulping.  
'Nicki. He used to date Nicki Forrest,' he told Jess.

Jess paled slightly – only a few days ago, Flack had ended up spending most of the night at Nicki's penthouse – she had originally dismissed the fact that Flack had come back to his own apartment in the ridiculously early hours of the morning. But now... Jess felt her stomach knot slightly.  
'Oh... That's... that's interesting. How long did they date for?'

Danny just shook his head.  
'Listen, you should really talk to Don about this – I'm not even supposed to have told you. I'm sure he means well though – he'll have had his reasons for not telling you.'

Angell nodded mutely as Danny walked away into another lab. It was nothing. She was sure. Almost certain of that fact – it was nothing. She'd just casually ask her boyfriend about it when she got a chance. Or tomorrow morning. Whichever came first. With a far too casual shrug, Jess walked over to the elevators and hit the down button. Everything would be all right.

* * *

**A/N: Well, there you go! Here's that chapter! I'm still collecting inspiration but everyone knows how that usually goes! Hope you enjoyed it and thank you all for all the positive feedback!  
Grace!**


	6. Everybody's Going To War

**A/N: Right, I'm really sorry I've kept you all waiting for so long but here's the next chapter! Reviews are welcome and you're all brilliant for reading this! Oh, and Merry Christmas!**

* * *

'Could you _please_ tell you girlfriend that she is being paranoid, insecure and downright stupid?' Nicki requested angrily. She was stood outside the precinct, her hood pulled up.

'Why?' Flack frowned. 'What's she said?'

'She has some stupid notion that something's going to spark up between us because of our "past",' Nicki told him, taking a sip of coffee whilst battling the urge to roll her eyes.

Flack did a double take, staring down at the federal agent.  
'Since when did she know about us?' he asked, almost choking on his own coffee.

Nicki stared back at him, her eyes wide.  
'I thought you told her,' she replied slowly, shock obvious in her voice and raised eyebrows.

Flack shook his head quickly.  
'No – I bet you I can tell you who did though. I'm gonna kill Messer!' he promised in a growl, sighing as he asked hesitantly, 'What happened?'

'I got home from a run and she was waiting for me. Talk about home invasion,' Nicki muttered darkly.

'You're a federal agent – I thought you'd be used to it. Oh, it's usually you that does the invasion, right?' Flack teased. 'So, what did you say to Angell?'

'Oh, just that instead of asking me, she should ask you,' Nicki replied lightly with a wry smile.

'Is the polite version?'

'It's the basis of what I said – I can't remember the details.' Nicki suddenly laughed at the recollection of an old memory. 'At least Angell didn't throw me into a locker or down two flights of stairs.'

'I don't think you'll be able to transfer to a private school now,' Flack informed Nicki with mock sadness.

'Shut up – I hardly wanted to go. But, on the subject of your dear, sweet, slightly psycho girlfriend – I was generally polite to her.'

It was Flack's turn for his eyes to widen.  
'What does "generally polite" mean, Nicki?'

Nicki waved a dismissive hand.  
'Nothing important – why are you here at half seven in the morning?'

'Covering for a friend – I was getting some fresh air but now? Now, I don't want to go inside in case Angell's in early and I have to face her wrath for your "general politeness",' he stated darkly, raising an eyebrow when Nicki stared incredulously at him. 'Yes, Special Agent Forrest?'

'We're standing outside the entrance to the precinct,' Nicki reminded Flack in a voice she usually reserved for the densest, most disturbed or plain unstable of criminals. Or her partner. 'Wouldn't we have noticed Detective Angell entering?'

Flack shrugged.  
'Maybe – she's good at sneaking around. Why are _you_ here so early?' he asked suspiciously, looking around for other federal agents.

'Harding is dragged me along,' Nicki explained, a less than joyful expression on her face.

'Oh. Sounds nice. How's work?'

'Fun, fun, fun.' Nicki's tone was in stark contrast to her words. 'It's always great when you're being bounced between senators and the like. How's work for you?'

'Busy.' was the short answer.

'Which is bad,' Nicki pointed out, taking another sip of coffee, wincing as she felt a burning sensation on the tip of her tongue. 'Do you ever wonder what you'd be doing if you weren't a cop?'

Flack thought about this for several minutes before finally answering,  
'I don't know – maybe sports or something to do with bikes.'

Nicki smirked, leaning her head back and thinking about this for her own life.  
'I reckon I probably would've been in performing arts – or maybe I'd have ended up like Adel, a complete... parasite.' Nicki shivered at the thought.

Flack took the opportunity to say,  
'There's still time yet.' He chuckled when Nicki hit him on the arm.

'Murderers keep you in a job; constant threat and terrorism keeps me employed,' Nicki muttered, gazing absently across the street, smiling when Flack told her that he hadn't thought about it like that before. 'I know, not many L.E.O.'s do but it brings back the reality of it all – reality is something I need right now. I'm going to propose a rather strange toast –'

'It's expected – you're a rather strange person, Nix,' Flack remarked, managing to bring out a genuine laugh in Nicki. 'Right – what is this toast?'

'To murderers and terrorists?' Nicki suggested, bumping her cup to Flack's, who grimaced. 'What's up?'

'We're toasting murderers and terrorists outside a police station – what could possibly be worse about this entire situation?' When Nicki simply stared at the detective and showed no signs of relenting, Flack sighed and nodded. 'Fine – but only for keeping us employed,' he added quickly.

'I would never suggest anything else! How long have you been with Angell?' she asked abruptly, pulling her hood down and allowing thick black strands of hair to fall over her face; she brushed them out of the way with a gloved hand.

'Six months, I think.' Flack watched Nicki become increasingly frustrated with one particular strand of hair that kept on being blown in her face; he fought the urge to laugh at the frustrated look on her face.

'Nice.' The word was practically growled out as Nicki carried on her battle.

'What about you?'

'I'm not with Angell.' Another growl, although Nicki winked at him as she told him, 'I'm not with anybody.'

Flack raised his eyebrows, finishing off his coffee.  
'I think that's a lie!'

'I resent that, Flack – I do not lie!' Nicki protested furiously, shaking her head and glaring up at him. 'And I am single –'

'That's not what my sources are saying,' Flack countered, watching Nicki groan and lean her head back against the wall behind her.

'And who are you sources?' she asked through gritted teeth, closing her eyes.

'Your sisters.'

Nicki's eyes shot open as she asked,  
'Which ones? I have a few...'

'Ruby and Kay,' Flack answered her, smirking as she swore beneath her breath. 'Watch your tongue, Nicki.'

'Who are you, my dad?' Nicki cried, adding darkly, 'You've used much worse language than that so you're a bit of a hypocrite, Detective. Anyway, Ruby and Kate talk far too much. Will, you can usually trust; Kay, depends on the subject but the rest of them?' Nicki shook her head. 'They could be politicians with the amount of crap they spout.'

'At least they'd receive protection from their sister then.'

'Ha. Ha. Ha.' Nicki checked her phone as it began to ring and couldn't hide a smile. 'I need to take this.'

Flack observed her, sneaking a glance at the caller I.D. and laughing.  
'You are such a liar, Forrest!' he chuckled, taking her coffee from her, their fingers brushing.

'Thanks,' she murmured, answering the call. 'Hey – have you even touched down in New York yet?' There was an amused note to her voice. She laughed at the response, now saying, 'You're an idiot, Ed – you'll end up losing your luggage... Since when did you have a personal slave?' Nicki paused, shaking her head. 'She's your secretary, Ed, not your servant! Give her a break once in a while. No - no, you do not. And I know she doesn't mind, for obvious reasons, but does that make a difference?' From the frown that appeared on Nicki's face, it was obvious that a question that she didn't like had just been asked. 'We're expected to do that – and we're partners. We have each other's backs, all of that stuff. Listen,' Nicki added as her partner approached her, waving a thick file, 'I've got to go now. I'll see you tomorrow or Wednesday, ring me when it's okay. Bye – you too!' With that she hung up. 'Stop looking so smug, Flack – I bet I can still beat you on a Harley.'

'Because you could beat me nine years ago,' Flack replied sarcastically. He shook his head, proudly declaring, 'You will never be able to beat me on a bike – you stick to your cars with tinted windows and bulletproof glass and I'll stick to bikes and actually have licence plates on my vehicles.'

'You are just _so_ hilarious. I've got to go now – Matt doesn't like to be kept waiting for too long.' Nicki pointed at the sandy haired, tanned federal agent leaning against a car door. 'See you round – next time Jess waits for me in my own apartment, could you tell her that she should book herself a bed in Trinity? I might not be so polite next time,' she warned Flack.

'You'd better be joking, Nix – but I'll make sure she keeps it in mind!' he called as Nicki strode over to her colleague.

* * *

Harding looked over at Nicki, completely bored in the traffic.  
'You're not very verbal today, Forrest,' he noted.

Nicki shrugged, flicking through the pictures on her phone. She shot her friend a glare when he tried looking at the photos as well, snapping her phone shut.  
'Heard of a thing called privacy, Matt? Some people like having it,' she informed him.

'Aw, are you still mad at me for coming to your sister's wake?' Matt asked, sighing and drumming his fingers against the steering wheel.

'No, I'm mad at you for skipping work and then having me make excuses for you!' Nicki retorted, looking furiously out of the passenger side window. 'We're adults, we're grown up, not in high school – just because I'm out for a week due to the fact I'm sorting out my sister's funeral and alcohol is present at her _real_ wake does not mean you get to skip work and "celebrate life the way it was meant to be celebrated",' she recited. 'You didn't even know her!'

'Woah!' Matt held up his hands in an attempt to show a little innocence. He knew it was futile but it was worth a try. He lowered his hands, placing them back on the wheel. 'Next time you go to the firing range, you can have a picture of my face to shoot at. Unless you already do that?' he asked slowly.

Nicki shook her head curtly.  
'Don't worry; I'll take you up on the offer though.' When horns blared all around her, she kicked the dashboard in frustration. 'What the hell is keeping us on this exact same block of tarmac?'

Harding raised an eyebrow, leaning over and taking the file out of the glove box, pressing it into Nicki's hands.  
'Read this - it'll keep you distracted,' he assured her. 'Anyway, it's New York, Nicki – there's always traffic.'

Nicki narrowed her eyes, hissing,  
'I'm not a child that needs to be pacified! And I've already read this – I can't help but feel we're going in over our heads. Again.'

'Nicki, you've said that before and we've always come out of the other side together. Usually with medals pinned to our chests, although I usually have the broken arm,' he grumbled. His expression softened as he put a hand on her shoulder. 'We'll be fine – with this file from NYPD and the stuff we've got on him, all we have to do now is actually find him.'

Nicki whipped her head around to stare at Harding, her eyes burning furiously.  
'What do you mean, "actually find him"? I thought you said you know where Lopez is, at this moment in time?' she shouted, giving the dashboard another kicking. 'Why did the director even trust you to take this case?'

'_Us_ – why did the director trust _us_ to take this case on,' Harding corrected Nicki sharply, reminding her, 'We are a team.'

'Whatever – _you_ still need to find Lopez. And no vague answers, okay?' It was clear from Nicki's tone that there was no room for Harding to manoeuvre. Her eyes flashed dangerously.

'I know he's in America,' Harding muttered, sighing with relief as the traffic began to move forward; he gently nudged the gas pedal.

'Which part, Matt – North, Central or South?' When her partner stayed quiet, Nicki gave a hard laugh. 'Yeah, when you can tell me the answer to that, I'll be happier. Meanwhile, he's out there, dealing drugs and shooting innocent kids whilst planning the deaths of high-ranking officials. We're making no progress,' Nicki muttered darkly.

'We've had this case back for just over a week and we already know which part of the world he's in; his picture has been circulated everywhere and we've alerted Interpol, CIA, the FBI – I would hardly be saying that we've made no progress. We'll find him, Nicki, we always find them.' Harding opened his window at the top, allowing the cool breeze to float in.

Nicki didn't look so sure, muttering,  
'Maybe... Where are you going?' she asked as Harding pulled up outside a restaurant.

'Nature calls,' Matt explained shortly, opening his door. When Nicki let out a growl, he stared at her, eyes wide. 'I need to pee - or do you want to explain to our superiors why there might be urine all over my seat and why you wouldn't let me out for two minutes to relieve myself?' When Nicki stayed quiet, he nodded, triumphant. 'I thought so – I'll be right back.'

Nicki caught the keys as he threw them at her and decided it would be worth her while to re-read the case files. They were all very thick, with the exception of reports from Mexico, which never exceeded more than two pages.

* * *

Two minutes passed and Harding returned, right on time. Nicki looked at him, throwing the keys back.  
'Relieved yourself?'

'Yep – and scored the number of this hot waitress too,' he added, head swollen with pride.

'I'll buy you a medal when I can,' Nicki told him dryly, 'now, let's get back to work.'

'_I'm _getting back to work – you, Forrest, have a psych evaluation,' he informed her, half expecting a gunshot to resonate throughout the car. He was quite shocked when there was no bullet hole in the windscreen. 'You're not shooting at anything...'

'I'm saving it for the quack,' Nicki told him, seething with fury.

Harding nodded.  
'Makes sense, which is strange because it's coming from your mouth,' he added, much to Nicki's amusement.

'Would you like me to say it in Hebrew?' Nicki offered. 'Then it won't make sense for you and we'll be back to the status quo.' When Harding nodded, she sighed and recited the phrase in Hebrew.

'And we're back to normal,' Matt declared, his eyes twinkling slightly.

Nicki leant back against the leather seat, spinning her keychain around on an index finger. She hated psychologists. There was no doubt that they were going to ask about her sister and Nicki would have to talk.  
'I don't want this evaluation,' she grumbled. 'Since when did I have to be evaluated by somebody who knows next to nothing about me?'

Harding was silent, moving the Audi forward through the traffic. Eventually, when they came to some traffic lights, he sighed, asking,  
'If you're not ready for the psychologist, are you really ready to come back to work? Maybe it's a good thing that this person probably won't know you, it means that there'll be no outside influence on their decision.'

Nicki narrowed her eyes, asking,  
'Since when have you been on the side of the quack?' Nicki's eyes widened as she muttered, 'Unless it's that blonde psychologist you think is cute – do you know who's interviewing me?' she added quickly.

Harding shook his head quickly.  
'Nope, no idea. Anyway, it's not an interview – it's an _evaluation_,' he corrected her rather bravely.

'Carry on like that, Matt, and I'll be evaluating the many ways I could shoot you,' Nicki promised.

* * *

**A/N: Well, there you go! Apologies if it's shorter than usual, I've been battling writer's block and only got back into this story yesterday! **

**Until next time,  
Grace x**


	7. Makes Me Wonder

**A/N: Hey guys! Isn't my updating getting better? It's only been a week or two, hasn't it? Not several months... *looks around innocently* Anyway, here's your next chapter. And Nicki's boyfriend, Edward (by the way, I'm sort of attempting to channel Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne.) So, here you go!**

* * *

Nicki rolled over and leant up on an elbow, a small smile on her face. She looked at the man lying next to her, who was staring up at the ceiling and murmured,  
'As lovely a ceiling as that is, I think it might press charges, what with being stared at with so much venom. It might think it's being harassed or targeted for something and I'm afraid to say that I'd have to side with it.'

Ed turned his head, gazing at Nicki.  
'It's a good job I'm one of Manhattan's top lawyers then.'

Nicki shrugged.  
'I don't know - it might get one up on you and hire… Well, I don't know, I hardly know any lawyers,' Nicki sighed.

Edward shook his head and sat up slightly to kiss Nicki.  
'Mm – you say that as if it's a bad thing. I can assure you that not all lawyers are as interesting as myself.' He kissed her again, his brown eyes twinkling slightly. 'However, with the way you were glaring at that report before, I could give you the same warning,' he teased.

Nicki shook her head, glowering in the darkness.  
'Don't worry; it'll be burnt straight after my boss has photocopied it. I wasn't going to come over until tomorrow, you know, what with jet lag and everything,' she carried on in a more serious tone, running a hand through her hair and lying back down.

Edward studied her quietly before lightly kissing her uncovered shoulder and murmuring,  
'I'm fine – the only thing I was worried about was whether Louisa was going to keep on piling files onto my desk every time I mentioned your name.' He rolled his eyes. 'Sometimes, she acts like she's my wife.'

Nicki looked at the lawyer archly.  
'You're the one who said it, not me.' She closed her eyes, carrying on. 'Anyway, I'm sure she'd make a brilliant wife one day - you'd be a lucky guy to get her.' Nicki knew that Edward was glaring at her and smirked.

'I don't want a wife like her,' he told her slowly.

Nicki groaned, sitting up and meeting his gaze, replying,  
'We've talked about this – I'm a federal agent and you're a lawyer; by all accounts, we shouldn't even be seeing each other, let alone have you _considering_ marriage; I mean, how long have we even been together?' she asked, staring seriously at Edward.

He waved a hand.  
'Since you moved to New York?' he guessed. 'Oh, are we talking officially or unofficially?' he asked darkly.

Nicki frowned.  
'Stop saying it like that! You know I'm in a dangerous career - there is every chance that I walk into my office in –' She checked her watch and sighed. '- three hours and never walk out again. Plus, the press would have a field day and that's the last thing either of us need. Having an official relationship with me is practically making yourself a moving target.'

'Nicki, we are from some of the biggest, wealthiest families in New York. It was hardly going to go unnoticed,' Edward reminded her. 'But what makes you think I care about any of that? Obviously, I care about you not walking out of your office but –'

'No. Let's tackle your brother's wedding first and maybe then we'll talk about this. Crazy fool.' Nicki rolled her eyes.

'You're starting to sound like Mr T.,' Edward told her, grinning as she shoved him playfully. He put his hands on her waist and pulled her towards him, laughing when she glared at him. 'Calm down, Nix – anyway, yes, we'll tackle Stuart and Tia's wedding first and then we'll tackle our own issues,' he told her firmly, frowning when she buried her head in his chest. 'What's up?'

'I've just remembered that I have to be her maid of honour,' Nicki groaned, 'and that she's going to put me in a dress and it'll be strapless and I'll sicken everybody there.'

Edward was silent for a few moments before asking, very slowly, with his eyebrows raised,  
'You're really not good at letting things not snowball, are you?'

Nicki looked up, shaking her head.  
'No, no I am not.'

Edward grinned at her, kissing her again – it was longer than the last few. He brushed a few strands of hair out of her bright eyes and stroked her cheek.  
'You're truly beaut-'

'Stop trying to pay me compliments in a bid to calm me down or distract me from the hideous event that will be Tia's wedding. I will hurt you,' she promised, moving back over to where she had previously been on the mattress. Nicki now began to glare at the ceiling herself. 'It is not working.'

'You can't blame a guy for trying,' Edward grumbled beneath his voice.

'Yes, you can,' Nicki was quick to argue, placing a finger over Edward's mouth before he could reply; he had already rolled over to look at her, propped up on elbow, his face holding such an expression that almost every other lawyer in New York State feared. 'No arguing, Ed – roll over and go to sleep.' Nicki couldn't keep the smile out of her voice as she looked at her boyfriend. She didn't like calling him that; it sounded childish and like it was fleeting but there had to be a label on their relationship. It was what society expected.

'For three hours? It hardly seems worth it.' The suggestion was clear in Edward's voice and he sighed when Nicki smirked and turned the other way; still, it didn't mean that he couldn't sleep with an arm around her.

'Goodnight, Edward,' Nicki sang, her eyes closed.

* * *

Nicki walked into her office refreshed and suitably happy, throwing her raincoat and bag onto the chair in front of her desk, her smile still present. This was until she saw a file on top of her keyboard: a thick file with the Secret Service crest emblazoned onto it. Nicki frowned and picked it up; her frown transformed into a look of sheer amazement when she saw all the work that had been completed inside it. She opened the interconnecting door, linking hers and Harding's offices, and walked in.

Harding glanced up from his monitor to briefly look at Nicki before returning to his work.  
'You need something, Forrest?' he asked rather more sharply than usual. He noticed the astounded expression on Nicki's face, along with the file, and shot her a glare. 'Did your mother never tell you to be grateful?' he snapped.

Nicki bristled at this comment, standing up straighter as she replied frostily,  
'I wouldn't know – what I do know is that all this information… it must've taken you hours to put together. I'm just wondering whether you actually went home last night.'

Harding shrugged, hitting the backspace button as he misspelt a word.  
'Sleep can wait - that information couldn't. Aren't you going to say thank you?' Harding looked at Nicki as she slammed his work down onto the desk. 'What's got up your nose, Forrest?'

'You have! Now, I'm incredibly grateful that you managed to get all of this information for me and thank you but the fact that you didn't go home last night is ridiculous! The information would've still been there in the morning. Now, go home and get some sleep and come in later, when you feel better; better still, why don't you just have a sudden illness and take the entire day off, sort yourself out and come back in tomorrow?' Nicki suggested, daring Harding to argue with her.

'I'd rather n-'

Her eyes flashed dangerously as she said quietly,  
'I'm sure your senior agent will cover for you, seeing she is the higher ranking, more trusted and her word is highly valued in D.C. – no questions will be asked,' she added in assurance, leaning forward slightly more.

Harding's eyes were tight as he replied in an exhausted voice,  
'I would rather stay here and wo-'

'It wasn't a polite suggestion, Special Agent Harding – it was an order.' The authority which Nicki had had for many years but never before used much until now was crystal clear in her voice. 'I hope you have a pleasant "illness", Agent Harding.'

Harding nodded, standing up, a cool expression upon his face.  
'Of course, Special Agent Forrest – I'm beginning to feel a bit faint already.'

Nicki nodded, watching Harding leave before she logged him off his computer – but not before writing down what he'd been looking at – and locked his office door. She would surely pay for sending him away at a later date but that was a risk she was willing to take; Harding was a brilliant agent, one of the few friends she'd made when she'd joined the agency. His welfare meant a great deal to her. She now took her time to leaf through the various reports Harding had left upon her desk, sitting down in the chair behind her desk. There were pieces of information here that Nicki had never even known existed and police reports written in languages that she didn't even recognise.

* * *

'Looks interesting – wonder if you've got time for another one?'

Nicki's head shot up and her hand flew towards her gun. She slowly relaxed upon seeing that it was Flack. She was still on edge as she asked,  
'How did you get in here?'

Flack chuckled.  
'Are you this welcoming to everybody you're attempting to salvage a friendship with or is it just me?' he asked.

Nicki shrugged, replying,  
'The answers to each are both one and the same; you've still not answered my question yet though,' she pointed out, repeating, 'How did you get in here?'

'Your door wasn't locked and you were in your other room,' Flack explained, nodding at Harding's office. 'What is that, some huge store cupboard?'

Nicki smirked, shaking her head.  
'No, it's Harding's office – I was putting a copy of this on his desk.' She waved the file as a way of explanation. 'So, what do you need?'

Flack raised his eyebrows.  
'What do you mean, "what do you need"?' he asked, slightly puzzled.

Nicki turned her attention back the case reports in front of her. They were very interesting and required most of Nicki's attention. But only most of it.  
'You know perfectly well what I mean, Don – as a rule, local L.E.O.'s don't waltz into the office of a federal agent unless that agent has something that the police officer requires.' Nicki turned over one of the pages, reading the other side of it. 'So, what is it?'

'Hang on – I'm not a Leo or whatever it is you called me.'

'L stands for Law; E stands for Enforcement and O stands for Officer. All together, they spell L.E.O. – so yes, you are a Leo.' Nicki was quietly amused. 'Now, are you going to ask politely for whatever it is that you want or are we going to have one of those arguments that police officers and federal agents normally have?'

'It's about your case – Timothy Lopez.'

Once again, Nicki's head shot up – however, this time, she strained her neck. Rubbing it with a small frown, she asked warily,  
'This case has been assigned to the Secret Service – how did you find out about it?'

Flack shrugged.  
'I'm sneaky like that. The NYPD wants in –'

'Oh. Are you the messenger?' Nicki laughed, setting the pages down onto her desk, still rubbing her neck. 'Well, you can tell the NYPD that they can go through all the proper channels and request to be kept in the loop but the answer will always be the same. The answer will always be a simple, clear-cut "no",' Nicki finished firmly. 'It's a delicate case – don't feel insulted. Plus, the guys practically a mole, he's underground so much. Why did the NYPD want to be involved anyway?'

Flack shot Nicki a brief glare before telling her,  
'A few months ago there was a drugs bust; one of the narcotics team was shot – execution style – in the warehouse where the bust took place. Today, after another few months, we found out that the bullet came from a gun owned by Timothy Lopez –'

'Do you know why it took a few _months _for the results to come back?' Nicki interrupted quickly, opening the top drawer in her desk and pulling out a stack of papers; it seemed like she had an entire tree in and around her desk. She leafed through the papers before finding the one she wanted and showing it to the detective.

'It's an email,' Flack said upon first inspection.

Nicki nodded.  
'Yes, between Lopez and somebody in the NYPD – that's why it took a few months for the ballistics report to come through. Lopez has friends very high up in the law enforcement food chain, friends that don't want any of us to find him,' Nicki said quietly, leaning back in her chair and resting her arms behind her head.

'So why are you quick to deny yourself the aid of the NYPD?' Flack challenged, hoping that he'd been quick enough to burrow beneath Nicki's federal agent defences and make her change her mind; he saw, from her exasperated reaction, that he'd been unsuccessful.

'Because we don't need any help; plus, if you were to arrest somebody high up in the NYPD, your life as a Homicide Detective would be made absolute hell. Receiving abuse from police officers – federal agents are used to it; I'd say that I've really warmed to it over the past few years,' Nicki added rather brightly, 'but to receive abuse from somebody you work for is another thing entirely. Plus, you'd just shoot down the idea of every New York police officer we accused.'

'Doesn't the fact that I've not shot down your idea of somebody in the NYPD being on the take suggest otherwise?' Flack asked calmly.

Nicki pondered on this for a moment.  
'Maybe… But this case is rather more dangerous than you could ever comprehend and by the end of it, blood will have been shed and not all by Lopez. In fact,' she murmured in an undertone, 'blood already has been shed.' She looked up as there was a knock on her door. 'Enter,' she called.

'Don't you sound like the executive of a company?' Flack remarked under his breath, not willing to leave until he got what he came for.

Nicki glared viciously at Flack, smiling politely when the mail clerk entered with a few packages for her.  
'Thanks, Angela. How are the kids doing?' she asked as she took her mail from the woman, feeling Flack's amazed gaze on her and feeling quite amused.

'They are doing very well - Maria has just turned three.' There was a trace of Spanish in Angela's voice and face.

Nicki gave the mail clerk a wide smile.  
'That's great; well, I won't keep you any longer, Angela – you got any stuff for Harding? He went home early – got ill,' Nicki explained quickly, standing up to walk to the mail cart and collect Harding's packages for him. She took them and nodded her thanks to Angela. 'Thanks –'

'No problem, Agent Forrest.' Angela quickly left, closing the door behind her.

Nicki groaned as she balanced the large packages between her arms.  
'What the heck does Harding have in these things? It feels like it's all lead weights.' Very slowly and very carefully, she put all the packages into Harding's office. She re-entered her office and looked down at Flack, who was still gazing at her and asked, 'What?'

'Who'd have thought it – Nicki Forrest, champion of the people?' he teased.

'Ha. Um, maybe you, seeing as you dated me for four years and said that I was the most down-to-earth person you knew?' she suggested, opening her mail by simply slipping a thin finger beneath the flap and flicking it up. She pulled out the mail, quickly scanning through the contents. She groaned. 'Brilliant.'

'What?' Flack asked, concerned.

Nicki looked up at Flack, her green eyes stormy.  
'Why do you want to be on this case so much?' she asked, resting her head on her hands.

'Because one of my colleagues was shot and I think the family have a right to know who killed their son and the law enforcement community has a responsibility to catch the murderer,' Flack replied.

'Yes, we do. Quick question – who was Samantha dating a few months ago?' Nicki looked very steadily at Flack, asking a question she already knew the answer to.

'I don't know –'

'For a Detective, you make a terrible liar.' Nicki turned the contents of her letter around, showing Flack the contents of the envelope she had just opened. 'This is the autopsy report of one Liam James Farrow, Detective for New York's finest – he was part of the Narcotics squad that conducted that bust and according to the report, he was the one shot with Lopez's gun.' Nicki put the autopsy report down on her desk, pushing it towards Flack. She now held up several pieces of smaller, glossier paper – photographs. 'Here are some photos of Samantha with Detective Farrow – they seem to be quite intimate here. If this is "not dating", then you're married to Angell and I'm a llama – this is why you want to be on this case, isn't it? Not just because of the responsibility to find justice for one of your own but because your little sister was dating this Farrow.' She pushed the photographs over to Flack.

Flack nodded mutely, inspecting the pictures.

Nicki shook her head, briefly closing her eyes.  
'No, it's far too personal – a conflict of interest –'

Flack suddenly put a hand in his pocket and pulled out a brown envelope and took its contents from it. He held up the pieces of paper.  
'This is a hospital report from somewhere in California from about a year ago. One Nicki Gaia Forrest – I've finally found out your middle name now; I don't see why you never told me. It's pretty,' Flack commented before carrying on, 'anyway, you apparently received a bullet to your left shoulder whilst in California, given to you by Timothy Lopez.'

'Yes, he did shoot me,' Nicki replied coolly, 'it motivates me. And it was in the line of duty. Anyway, I would've hardly called it more than a graze anyway – it didn't hurt for very long.' Nicki was silenced when Flack held up a photo that documented her wound – the muscles and skin surrounding her shoulder ripped open by the force of the Desert Eagle. Somehow, it hadn't been a through-and-through; it had lodged in her shoulder. Nicki didn't know how she still had her left arm, let alone her life, but she now never went on any mission without a bulletproof vest. It had saved her once; it would surely do so again if the need should ever arise. Nicki's shoulder twinged in memory of the incident. Quietly, she now asked, 'You're not going to give up, are you?'

Flack shook his head.  
'No.'

Nicki sighed wearily, picking up her office phone and punching in the numbers for the direct line to the Director.  
'Fine, I'll make the call. But those –' Nicki pointed at the hospital report and photo of her wound, a disgusted look on her face. '- you give those to me so that they can go into a deep, dark place. I'll give you the files about Farrow in exchange.'

Flack agreed to this, though he was confused.  
'Why do you hate those photos so much?'

'Because that scar makes me feel ashamed every time I glance at it or remember that it's there. You would be too if you knew the circumstances behind it, Don,' she told him as she took the offensive files from her friend and threw them into the filing cabinet behind her, slamming it shut and locking it.

'What are the circumstances behind it?' Flack asked, concerned.

Nicki gave a cold, hard laugh.  
'Don't ask questions you won't like the answers to, Don – they come back to haunt you in the night.'

* * *

**A/N: Well, there you go. I hope you enjoyed it. For once, I've got a loose plan for the next chapter for this one so hopefully, a quicker update than the last few times. Really hope you're enjoying your holidays,  
****Grace x**


	8. Time To Dance

**A/N: Hey guys! Apologies for not updating sooner – this has been sitting on my laptop for **_**ages**_**, I've just not had the chance to transfer it to my desktop with an internet connection. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Stella approached Flack, frowning at the biro in her hand.  
'Hey, Flack – you got a pen?' she asked, glancing at the documents on Flack's desk. 'You been keeping watch on Samantha?'

Flack looked down at the photos and tried to push them away. Stella stopped him. He shook his head and handed a pen to his friend.  
'No, I've not –'

'So who has been?' Stella asked, signing a form. She took a closer look at the photos on the desk, recognising the second person in them. 'Wait, is that Farrow?' When Flack nodded, she raised her eyebrows. 'Narcotics squad Farrow?'

Flack nodded again, saying quietly,  
'That's him with my sister. Why do you sound so surprised?' Flack didn't really have any room to manoeuvre here – he had been as surprised as Stella had been when Farrow had walked up to him in the squad room and confessed that he was involved with his little sister.

'No reason,' Stella said quickly, waving a dismissive hand and handed the pen back to Flack. 'Just needed to finish this form –'

'It's because Samantha is… well, Samantha, isn't it?' Flack guessed, a wry smile on his face, putting the pen back in his pocket. He frowned when he felt something else in his pocket and drew it out. It was a memory card. He held it up, inspecting it. 'What's this?'

Stella smirked.  
'It's a memory card, Don – people who use technology use them for storage space. Memory.' She said the last word slowly, earning herself a glare from Flack, who snatched the memory card back off her.

'Very funny, Stella – I meant why is it in my pocket,' he corrected himself, rotating it between his index finger and thumb.

Stella shrugged.  
'Holiday snaps with Angell?' she teased, earning herself another dark look from her colleague.

'No – I didn't even know it was in my pocket.'

Stella raised her eyebrows, walking away.  
'I was going to offer to run it through the lab computers but now that you've no idea what the contents are, I'm not.'

Flack rolled his eyes and called to her,  
'Mind – get it out of the gutter!' Laughing, he slipped the memory card into the hard drive of his computer, waiting for the computer to read it. He drummed his fingers on the desk, looking around the room, watching detectives file paperwork and drink coffee and take down witness statements. When a dialog box opened on his screen, he moved his eyes back to the monitor. It was a video file. He promptly closed it down when he saw Angell enter the room; Flack had only seen the first few moments of the video but he knew that if Angell saw him watching it, there would surely be another argument. He took the card out of the hard drive, pocketing it, and tried to look as relaxed as normal when Angell approached him. 'Something up?'

Jess shrugged.  
'Not really – spoken to Forrest recently?' she asked in a casual tone. Far too casual.

Flack now shrugged.  
'This morning – why? You got something you want me to tell her?' he asked cautiously. He had already put himself into dangerous territory with Jess; he didn't want to get in any deeper by having to hear something that would put him in yet another uncomfortable position.

'No. I was just wondering. You and Forrest are getting along considerably well, aren't you?' Angell asked coolly, her arms folded.

Flack nodded, opening up his email inbox and scrolling through all the unread messages.  
'Yeah, I suppose we are. We're friends – well,' he corrected himself quickly, 'we said that we'd have a go at keeping our friendship. For the circumstances, we're doing fairly well.'

Angell didn't believe one word of it.  
'You went out for four years, break up – under suspicious circumstances; didn't she go missing in the middle of the night? – don't see each other for nine years and when she swans back into New York, you're suddenly back to being best friends?' Angell gave a scornful laugh. 'Yeah, that's believable.'

'It should be – it's the truth. Anyway, we're not best friends,' Flack was quick to assure her. 'And who told you about her going missing?' he asked even more quickly.

'Type her name in on any search engine – all the old stories about her pop right up –'

'Jess, she did go off the radar for some time but she's a _Forrest_,' Flack reminded her, 'and with a family like hers, I don't blame her for doing that; yes, we didn't see each other for a few years but she hasn't changed too much –'

'Oh, so she was a federal agent when you met her, was she?' Angell rolled her eyes – she didn't know where this fury was coming from, only that she had it and it was slowly clouding her brain.

'No.' Flack pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. 'She was a normal, down-to-earth girl –'

'She's a _Forrest_.' Angell put an enormous amount of stress of the surname. 'How could she ever be down-to-earth?'

'Because she was and she still is; in all honesty, she's the most down-to-earth woman I know,' Flack admitted, 'because even though we've been talking for all of two and a half weeks, she's had her head screwed on the right way for all that time. Plus, she's given my sister a brilliant home so I'm all for being her friend.'

Angell gave Flack a poisonous look before walking over to her own desk.

Flack sighed, shaking his head. He needed to get out the precinct, just for a little while until the glares went away from the other side of the room. He decided he'd take Stella up on her offer.

* * *

Stella took the memory card from Flack, inserting it into the slot in the computer.  
'Do you know what's on it?' she asked, leaning over the computer and waiting for it to load.

Flack frowned.  
'I've got a feeling – I decided that it wasn't safe to open it in front of the entire precinct. You know how things get around in the precinct and then in no time, half of New York and your girlfriend know about everything,' he grumbled.

Stella looked sympathetically at Flack, asking softly,  
'Angell still giving you hell for Nicki?' Stella shook her head. 'I'm sure she's had plenty of past relationships that you don't go on at her about.'

'It's not the fact that she's going on about it that annoys me.' Flack put his arms behind his head, impatient for the video to load. 'Even my computer loads quicker than this one,' he grumbled.

Stella instantly rushed to the defence of the Apple Mac.  
'This computer never stops working – it solves crimes!' she said, checking her volume as her voice got slightly too loud for a normal crime lab environment.

Flack simply looked at Stella.

Stella nodded, muttering,  
'Point taken. Anyway, give the computer some time – it's probably converting it or something. So, what does bother you about Angell asking you about your relationship with Nicki?' Stella asked, sitting on the edge of the desk, looking at Flack, who was sat in the chair.

'It's the fact,' Flack said slowly, 'that she immediately asked how a guy like me managed to get with somebody like Nicki Forrest. That's what got underneath my skin – every time I see her, that question just comes back to slap me in the face.'

Stella nodded, although she was inquisitive.  
'How did you manage to end up getting with Nicki anyway?'

Flack smiled at the memory, which was still surprisingly clear to him.  
'She beat up my girlfriend – it kind of got my attention.' He laughed, straightening up when the video finally loaded.

'She beat up your girlfriend and you ended up going out with her for four years?' Stella was shocked. 'That's a unique way of getting your crush's attention.'

Flack shook his head, saying quickly,  
'It wasn't like that – we met through her brother –'

'How did you meet Will?'

'My girlfriend was making passes at him and I told him to back off.' Flack waved a hand at the confused look on Stella's face. 'Don't ask, it's a guy thing. I thought my girlfriend was perfect – the short story: I meet Will and Nicki somehow gets caught up in it; we end up becoming good friends; my girlfriend starts making up rumours that she's slept with Will – behind my back of course – and Nicki walked over and defended her brother's honour. A few right hooks, flights of stairs and lockers later, my girlfriend wakes up and Nicki's transferred to a private school and Sarah has half the school against her. It's quite ironic really.' Flack was still smiling when he pressed the play button; his smile vanished saw past the first few seconds of the video.

* * *

The camera was angled right over Nicki's body like they were standing over her. The angle dropped as this person knelt down, asking,  
_'Are you okay, Forrest?'_

Nicki's eyes flickered slightly in recognition of the man's voice but she didn't open her eyes. Her head was angled towards her left shoulder, out of which bright red blood poured.

'Jesus…' Stella breathed, hardly believing her eyes as she stared at the grainy image of Nicki lying on tarmac. 'That's Nicki!'

Flack nodded, concentrating on the video.

The person recording the events had now slipped his hands underneath Nicki's shoulders, dragging her backwards. Something happened that obviously worried him and he put Nicki down, kneeling down next to her.

Flack watched, almost behind his fingers, as this man checked Nicki's pulse and swore. Flack must have looked concerned and worried – even though he knew that Nicki was fine – as Stella rested a hand on his shoulder. He glanced up at her and gave her a small smile.

'_Stay with me, Forrest – come on, Nicki, stay with me.'_ He ripped open her Kevlar vest and started – to both Flack and Stella's horror – CPR. He breathed a sigh of relief when a pedestrian noticed his plight and asked what they could do. _'Apply pressure to her shoulder wound and call 911 off my phone - tell them that it's Special Agent Matt Harding of the American Secret Service and that I want that ambulance here A.S.A.P.!' _He threw his phone to the pedestrian, carrying on with the CPR for a few more seconds until Nicki finally came around, choking and gasping for air. _'Welcome back, Forrest.'_

She shook her head, her hair sticking to her forehead and her eyes darting around her.  
_'What's… happening?' _she gasped, her breath come in short bursts.

'_You've been shot. Help's on the way,' _Harding reassured her, glancing at his helper.

Nicki managed to nod, a little more blood slipping out from the hole in her shoulder and through the good Samaritan's fingers.  
_'Where are Alvarez and Benson?' _she asked, now noticing the man who was not part of her team. _'Who are you?'_

'_Mitch Cooper – just a friendly passer-by.' _He looked at the wound, frowning. _'What were you shot with – sawn off shotgun?'_

* * *

The video suddenly stopped and a voice from the doorway said quietly,  
'Not my finest moment, I must admit – and it was a Desert Eagle.' Nicki stepped forwards, a remote in her hand.

Flack span around in the office chair to stare at Nicki.  
'You deal quite well with being shot with a Magnum–'

'Ice creams aren't usually the best weapon, Don,' Nicki quipped with a wink. She quickly shook her head, walking forward; her heels clicked on the lab floor. 'No, it hurt like hell and I'm not really sure how long I was asleep for but I know it hurt.'

'You're lucky,' Stella told her.

'Or maybe God kicked me out of Heaven and I've not done enough to be put in Hell yet - I don't know. It was a year ago and it's not a great memory. At least, not what I've got left of it,' Nicki muttered. She took a deep breath and nodded towards the monitor, which was paused on a frame of her lying on the floor. 'How did you get that?'

Flack shrugged.  
'I don't know – it must have fallen out of that envelope. Do you want it?'

Nicki shook her head, opening her bag and drawing out a thin file.  
'No, I'm quite content with my own recollection of events, particularly when I was dosed up. I just brought this along for you, Don – thought you might want to read it.' She placed it on the table next to Flack and with a nod to Stella, left the room, looking quite distressed.

Flack stood up quickly and grabbed the file. He glanced over his shoulder at Stella, saying gratefully,  
'Thank you for that.' He left.

* * *

It didn't take him long to find where Nicki was – over by the vending machine, staring out across the skyline.  
'You okay?' he asked quietly when he was close enough.

Nicki nodded.  
'Yeah, I'm fine.'

'I'm sorry you had to see that –'

Nicki held up a hand, almost swatting Flack in the face with it.  
'No, it's fine – you're not to blame for being in the possession of that video and it probably shouldn't affect me the way that it has,' she murmured.

Flack stared incredulously at Nicki, asking,  
'Are you just trying to seem invincible or are you actually stupid?'

Nicki dropped her hand and looked at Flack, brow furrowed.  
'What do you mean? And they don't let "actually stupid" people into the Secret Service, Don.'

'Then why the hell are you saying that it shouldn't affect you like that? A couple of years ago, I was in an explosion –'

Nicki swung her head around to stare at Flack; her face had gone slightly grey.

'-and I'm telling you, if I saw footage of the explosion I was in, I'm pretty sure that I'd feel sick too. And possibly cry – but don't you dare tell Messer I said that,' he made Nicki promise, feeling slightly better when he managed to unearth a miniscule smile from Nicki. 'Your reaction is fine.'

'Maybe… At least we know how each other's story ends,' Nicki murmured, turning her eyes back out onto the view. 'We're both still here, which is more than can be said for Alvarez and Benson.'

Flack nodded.  
'You want a drink?' he offered, motioning to the vending machine.

'I'm not supposed to drink whilst I'm on duty –'

'You never used to drink at all,' Flack reminded her, looking at the contents of the vending machine, 'but that's not a problem seeing as I don't drink whilst I'm on duty and this vending machine doesn't have any alcohol in it. And I have no idea where my wallet is,' he now realised.

Nicki fully turned around, rolling her eyes.  
'It's going to be somewhere on your person, Don – try a pocket,' she suggested.

Flack shot a glare at Nicki, replying darkly,  
'You're a very helpful person, Nicki, especially for a federal agent.'

Nicki smirked.  
'I have more information but it's on a strictly need to know basis,' she said in her best federal agent voice, 'and you –'

'Don't need to know,' they finished in unison, laughing at the same caught each other's eye for a few moments before looking away uncomfortably.

'What do you want? Apple juice or water?' Flack chuckled at the sheer lack of selection as he pulled out his wallet.

'Water sounds good,' Nicki said, putting the correct change into the machine and shrugging when Flack gave her a questioning look. 'What, it's only…' She checked the price. 'Eighty cents.'

'I thought I'd buy it for you as a way to try and cheer you up; you look terrifying when you're upset.' He dodged out of the way of Nicki's hand as she went to hit him. This felt good; they were finally relaxing around each other.

It was obvious that Nicki was thinking the same thing from the smile playing around the edges of her lips, though she was attempting to give him a venomous glare. She failed and simply laughed.  
'You don't need to buy me eighty cent water bottles to cheer me up.' She took the water from the bottom of the machine, waiting until Flack's juice carton had dropped into the tray before she stood up, handing it to him. 'Juice carton? Seriously?'

'What?' Flack asked innocently. 'I like juice.'

Nicki rolled her eyes before quickly staring at Flack.  
'You did say "juice", right?' she asked.

Flack nodded, confused.  
'Yeah; why?'

'I thought you might have said "Jews",' she confessed, laughing at the silliness of the statement. 'And I was going to tell you that liking Jews might get you in trouble with Angell.' She pointed at the Star of David necklace she had on.

Flack stared at Nicki for a few moments. The only thing he could say with any degree of seriousness was,  
'You will get me into trouble, Nix, I bet you that.'

Nicki smirked, a thoughtful expression in her face.  
'How much do you bet?'

'What?'

'How much do you bet?' Nicki repeated, now adding, 'You've got to bet something, Don – you can't just bet air or something, plenty of people have that! Hey, what about a cereal bar?'

'I don't like them –'

'Okay, one cereal bar coming up!' Nicki didn't sound entirely unlike a waitress at a diner. She laughed again, sighing. 'So, I bet you one cereal bar that I don't get you into trouble.' She held out her hand in a business-like manner to seal the deal.

Flack grasped her hand, shaking it.  
'Fine – one sawdust bar it is that you do get me into trouble,' he replied.

Nicki rolled her eyes.  
'They don't taste like sawdust, unless sawdust suddenly has dried fruit in it,' she grumbled.

'How do you know what sawdust tastes like?' Flack asked suspiciously.

* * *

**A/N: Well, there you go, this chapter is finally up and the next one is in progress. Which is pretty impressive compared to what I'm usually like. Until the next chapter (let's not bet on when that'll be, okay? We'll all lose a lot of money.),  
Grace x**


	9. Pink Dress

**/N: Hope you all enjoyed the story so far and you're ready for some more! I had to a bit of research for this chapter (thank God for the ethernet cable whilst my desktop is... dead). I hope you all enjoy it and are having good days! Thank you for all the positive feedback!**

* * *

Edward Wilkes looked up as Special Agent Harding strolled into his office. It was safe to say that he and Harding didn't exactly see eye-to-eye on anything; in fact, their first meeting had ended with Harding threatening to assassinate Wilkes and Wilkes threatening to deport Harding and his entire family to Korea. All of this had happened in front of Nicki.  
'Agent Harding – I'd say it's a pleasant surprise but I'm not fond of lying,' Wilkes said casually, leaning back into his chair.

Harding gave Wilkes a withering look, not even attempting to mask any of the hatred he felt towards the lawyer, snapping,  
'You're a lawyer – of course you're fond of lying.'

'America is in a sad state when our own Secret Service starts stereotyping citizens,' Edward replied quickly, leafing through some paperwork on his desk.

'You infuriate me!' Matt growled.

'Yes, I do. Anyway, why are you in my office?' Wilkes asked in a bored tone.

'I need some information,' Harding told Wilkes, sitting down in an expensive leather chair across from the lawyer's desk.

Edward raised an eyebrow.  
'And you can't find your information out through your normal channels? Like a top secret government agency computer network?' he suggested, glancing across at Harding. He noticed how tired Harding looked, as if he hadn't slept in days, and it clicked. 'Nicki's kicked you out of the office until you get some sleep and she's not letting you back to work until you do.' Wilkes smiled as Harding nodded, asking, 'When did she do that?'

'About three days ago,' Harding admitted.

Edward found himself rolling his eyes as he told Harding,  
'As much as I hate to admit it, Nicki cares about you. So you should follow her orders and get some sleep.'

'I didn't know you cared,' Harding replied coldly, touching his heart as if he had been moved by Edward's words.

Edward glared at Harding, his mood changing instantly.  
'I don't give a damn about you, Harding!' he promised, carrying on in the same, furious tone. 'It's Nicki who I'm thinking about – it's bad enough for me that she's in the Secret Service and carries a gun with her twenty-four-seven but at least I know that somebody has got her back when she's out there - in the firing line. But when you go like this and let a case get under your skin, I'm genuinely scared for Nicki! Because if I hear that she's out in the firing line or travelling round with the President or a Senator and you're sleep deprived and have the temper of an angry piranha, I don't know whether she'll be coming back to New York in an Audi or a coffin!'

Harding raised his eyebrows, whistling lowly.  
'You really love her, don't you?'

Edward rolled his eyes.  
'Of course I do, Harding, we've only been seeing each for… a year and a half! And don't even ask whether that's officially or unofficially,' he warned. 'Just get yourself home and get yourself sorted out so I have one less thing to worry about.' He turned back to his paperwork, making a show of ignoring Harding.

Matt simply stared at Edward before saying quietly,  
'Timothy Lopez.'

Edward looked up sharply, staring with wide, horrified eyes at the federal agent as he said quietly,  
'Please tell me that you didn't just say that name.'

'That's our case – me and Nicki, that's our case. We're trying to catch him.'

Edward was still staring up at Harding as he repeated,  
'Please tell me that you didn't just say that name.' When Harding just stayed silent, Wilkes slammed his fist onto his desk, sending papers flying everywhere. 'After everything that man has put her through, you're still going after him? I mean, if the FBI and CIA can't catch him, what makes you think that you can?'

'Because,' Harding answered simply, 'he has a connection to Nicki.'

'"A connection"?' Edward snorted scornfully . 'What's that supposed to mean?'

'He shot Nicki and she survived. She remembers him for that and Lopez will remember Nicki for being the only person to survive him. He thinks he's connected to Forrest and when the time comes, we'll use that connection to our advantage,' Harding explained. 'Now, can I have whatever information your office has on Lopez or am I going to have to call Nicki in here?'

'You expect me to help you find this madman who almost shot my girlfriend?' Edward smirked, adding, 'Nice one with the threat, by the way.'

'I expect you to aid the course of justice by helping the Secret Service to apprehend a dangerous criminal and a man guilty of many more things than just shooting the hell out of Nicki's shoulder,' Harding snapped, holding out a memory stick. 'Put the information on here, Wilkes.' There was a brief pause before Harding said, through gritted teeth, 'Please.'

'How do you even know that I do have information on Lopez?' Edward asked, opening up a new window on his computer screen.

'You're a lawyer, Wilkes, and you've been around for long enough to have at least some information on him. Whatever it is, however small you think it is, it can help.' Matt looked earnestly at Wilkes, putting the memory stick down in front of the lawyer.

Edward thought about the situation for a moment. Then he nodded, putting the USB stick into the side of his hard drive.  
'Fine… It's all in a folder somewhere – I think Louisa's been on here and tidied things up – I'll get her in here.' He picked up his phone, saying, 'Miss Marshall, could I have you in here for a moment?' He put the phone down, looking at Louisa as she entered the office. There was a small, slightly annoyed smile on his face as he asked, 'Have you arranged my files on the computer?'

Louisa turned slightly pink as she answered,  
'I'm sorry, sir, but everything was all over the place and I needed to print off files for a trial three months ago and I was looking for them for half an hour whilst you were out on your lunch break.' Louisa sighed, shaking her head. 'I just decided to do a bit of housework whilst I was on there. Sorry.'

Edward waved a dismissive hand, still smiling.  
'Don't worry about, Louisa – I was just wondering where you put any information I had on one Timothy Lopez. This _nice_ agent from the Secret Service would like to have them copied onto his pen drive,' he told her, motioning towards Harding and standing up. He smoothed out the front of his shirt and picked up his jacket from the back of his chair. 'I have other business to attend to.'

Louisa frowned.  
'There's nothing on your calendar, Mr Wilkes –'

'That's because it's I'd rather not be doing this, Miss Marshall, let alone have a permanent reminder of it,' Edward told her, glancing at Harding as he left and saying, 'After this, get some sleep. Or Nicki will find out about all of this.'

* * *

Mac looked up as his office door opened. He was surprised, to say the least, to see Max Forrest standing in front of his desk.  
'Max – this is a surprise.'

Max smiled at his friend, replying,  
'I was just passing by and I thought it would be a good idea to visit you. There's not a law against that now, is there?' His eyes twinkled with good humour.

Mac chuckled, shaking his head.  
'No, there's not, Max – Nicki's office is a couple of blocks away, have you visited her too?'

Max immediately tensed up, looking slightly angry.  
'No, I've not seen Nicki and I don't intend to see her for a very long time,' he told Mac in a cold voice.

Mac shook his head, slightly angry himself as he replied,  
'This isn't fair on her, Max – she isn't to blame for Jasmine's death –'

'And I suppose she isn't to blame for that travesty that happened in Jasmine's name, straight after her funeral?' Max snapped, pacing the office, glaring at the investigator. 'I should've known that she'd have you on her side.'

'I'm not on anybody's side, Max!' Mac replied in an exasperated voice, wanting to throw his hands in the air. 'I just don't think that you should be alienating your daughter, especially after what's happened. Even if she tries not to show it, Nicki still feels wracked with guilt over what happened and having her own father blame her –'

'Mac, I advise you not to get involved in family affairs that do _not_ concern you,' Max growled, absolutely livid. 'Nicki deserves to feel guilty for her sister's death, nothing more and nothing less. She was there on official business and allowed her own sister to die. How she hasn't been fired is beyond me.'

Mac bit his tongue, wanting to say something cutting but resisting. Being head of the crime lab had meant sacrifices and in this case, he couldn't tell his friend exactly what he thought of him.

Max took a deep breath and carried on.  
'It's probably something to do with that lawyer she's been seeing – oh, she thinks that nobody knows but we all know that she's just putting other people in the firing line just to satisfy her own desires. She's an idiotic child; I'm ashamed to even think of her as my own!' Max raged.

Mac couldn't restrain himself any longer – he burst, snapping furiously, his voice shaking,  
'Shut up, Max! You do not talk about any person like that, especially not when they are _your_ daughter and I've defended you to her! And you do not about Nicki that way when she is my goddaughter!' He ended up bellowing this last part at Max, his fists clenched tightly. 'You told me not to get involved in family matters because they don't concern me? Well, to hell with you, Max, because if it concerns my goddaughter, it concerns me! Isn't that what you always told me when you couldn't get to one of Nicki's school plays or recitals because you were with another of Nicki's soon-to-be stepmothers? "She's your goddaughter, Mac, it concerns you too".'

Max almost winced upon remembering how often he had said those words to Mac. But only almost.

'And now you tell me not to get involved? Well, it's too late for that, Max – and I'm as sure as hell on Nicki's side because with a father as up his own ass as you, she needs all the people in her corner that she can get!' Mac narrowed his eyes, walking around his desk to face Max head on. 'Tell me, Max, what're you going to do?' At Max's silence, Mac smirked, his eyes cold and hard. 'That's right, Max – you won't do anything because you're all talk now and you don't know how to take action any more. Now get out of my office,' he spat.

'If this is the way that things have to be, then so be it.' Max turned on his heel and stormed out the office, the door slamming behind him.

* * *

Mac barely had time to catch his breath before Stella stuck her head in, looking slightly worried.

'What just happened between you and Max?' she asked warily, walking into the office, holding a file in her hands.

'Oh, I just made an enemy of him; we have a strong difference of opinions.' When Stella raised her eyebrows, Mac elaborated. 'On Nicki.'

'Oh. That's probably why he was on the phone to Sinclair when he was leaving,' Stella muttered.

'He phoned the Chief?' Mac had to fight to keep himself under control.

Stella nodded grimly.  
'Yep – sounded pretty insistent on having a meeting with him too. Can you sign off on this?' Stella handed the file over to Mac, watching as he scrawled his signature on a dotted line. 'Thanks.'

'No problem – I'm going to be dragged through hell for this,' Mac sighed. 'Old friends make the worst enemies.'

* * *

Tia Harrison was probably one of the most talkative people Nicki knew. The facts that she didn't seem able to stay silent for more than three seconds and that Tia had a voice on par with a chipmunk on helium hadn't exactly recommended her to Nicki when they had first met at Stuart's house. Still, her ability to come out with unintentionally funny remarks had quickly won Nicki over. This was only aided by the fact that Tia never had a clue what she was actually talking about. However, for what Tia lacked in brains, she certainly made up for in beauty.  
'So,' Tia was saying as she surveyed herself in this new wedding dress, 'I was thinking that we – you and me– should go away for a holiday for a week before the wedding. You know, some place sunny so we can tan and look amazing for the wedding! What do you think?' She gave Nicki a bright smile.

Nicki returned the gesture, watching Tia pace up and down in front of the mirrors.  
'I think that's a brilliant idea, Tia – I'd just have to know when and see if I'd be able to get time off work. Things are a bit tricky at the office but I'm sure that I've got enough vacation days,' Nicki quickly reassured Tia. 'Where were you thinking of going?'

Tia shrugged.  
'I don't know – I was thinking about Mexico but I've heard bad things about that place. Like crime rates and drug dealers and gangs and how they all speak a different language…' Tia's voice trailed off as she looked unhappily at her reflection.

Nicki nodded, happy that Tia was against Mexico – after what happened the last time she was there, Nicki wasn't entirely sure that she'd be let back into the country. She picked up the bottle of water next to her, taking a mouthful after asking,  
'A completely different language – what is it that they speak again?'

'Mexican.' Tia looked at Nicki, concerned, when she almost choked on her water. 'Nicki, are you okay?'

Nicki nodded quickly, saying in a hoarse voice,  
'Yeah, I'm fine, Tia. Absolutely fine.' She massaged her throat, murmuring, 'I've never been better.'

Tia beamed at her maid of honour.  
'Good! I don't like this dress, Nicki,' she wailed, waving over the assistant to unfasten it for her.

Nicki exchanged an exasperated look with the shop assistant, saying kindly,  
'It's only the eighth dress you've tried on – I'm sure there are many more.'

Tia nodded, walking towards the changing room. Over the door she called,  
'You're right, Nicki, you always are. You're _so_ smart, Nicki – does Edward like smart women?'

Nicki frowned, a little taken by surprise.  
'Yes,' she said slowly, 'I think he does. I'd like to think I'm smart and we are seeing each other; we've been seeing each other for a year and a half.'

'So why hasn't he proposed yet? Stuart proposed to me after six months!'

Nicki shrugged.  
'I don't think we're at that point yet – things are different for us,' Nicki pointed out, walking around the room.

Tia's head appeared over the door – she was completely confused as she asked,  
'Why are things different for you two? Has he done something wrong?'

Nicki quickly shook her head, waving a hand dismissively.  
'Things are just different for us, Tia – and no, he hasn't done anything wrong!' she quickly reassured the bride-to-be, her hands in the pockets of her jacket as she looked about her surroundings. She quickly focussed her eyes on a dress rack that held a whole different host of dresses. 'Tia?' she called hesitantly.

'Yeah?'

'You weren't planning on trying to get me into a dress today, were you?' Nicki took a few steps backwards, putting some distance between herself and the dresses.

'Well, yeah, Nicki! I mean, you're off work now so I figured that we might as well get started on you too!' Tia replied brightly as she emerged in another prospective dress.

Nicki stared at Tia, awestruck.  
'Tia… You look amazing,' she told her friend.

Tia blushed as she saw herself in the mirror.  
'Yeah… I like this one too, Nicki. I think this might be the one –'

Nicki could've punched the air in delight. She wasn't sure how many more white dresses she would've been able to put up with before deciding to personally burn down every single bridal shop in New York State. However, her proverbial bubble was burst when Tia nodded at the sales assistant.

'Now it's time for you!' Tia informed her maid of honour.

Nicki took a few deep breaths, counting to ten, before gritting her teeth and nodding her head.  
'Fine.' She frowned when an entire rack of designer – strapless – dresses were brought forward; her scarred shoulder involuntarily stiffened up. 'Actually –'

'No backing out, Nicki! You agreed to be my maid of honour so you're trying on some dresses. I've picked some out for you,' Tia told Nicki as she stepped onto the pedestal, inspecting herself from another angle.

'You're so helpful, Tia,' Nicki muttered darkly as she wandered over to the dress rack, rifling through them. Too pink; too pale; too frilly; too bright. Before she knew it, Nicki was being forced into a knee length, hot pink dress and up onto the pedestal. The dress was ruffled at the top, making Nicki eager to get out of the garment. She felt like a cake. And looked like one too.  
'You know, Tia, I don't think the hot pink goes with the green in my eyes,' Nicki protested loudly, holding her ribs as the dress was pulled in tight around her waist. 'Or that it agrees with me and my need to breathe.'

Tia waved a hand, dismissing Nicki's comments.  
'You've only got a bit of green in your eyes –'

'Two eyes, Tia – both are green! I think that constitutes as a _lot_ of green!' As Nicki's phone began to vibrate on the arm of the sofa beneath her, Nicki motioned to it. 'Tia, give me the phone. Thank you,' Nicki said as she took the phone from Tia, reading the message. With an apologetic look, she said, 'Family emergency.' She looked at the sales assistant's reflection. 'I need to get out of this dress.'

The woman tried to work her fingers beneath the knot that held the back of the dress together.

'Come on,' Nicki said impatiently, 'I've got to get out of here!'

The woman tried again.

'Anytime soon,' Nicki said sharply.

She shook her head.  
'I'm sorry but… I can't undo it.'

'Great. This is _just_ great,' Nicki snapped sarcastically.

**A/N: Well, here you go! I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter and you're all enjoying whichever series of CSI:NY you're on. I missed last night's episode so I might as well catch up on that later. Until the next time,  
Grace x**


	10. Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town

**A/N: Well, here's the next chapter. I've just finished it off this evening. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

'Small words,' Max snapped as he stormed up towards Ruby. When his daughter stayed resolutely silent, Max took a deep breath and said, his voice shaking, 'Explain _now_.'

Behind Ruby's eyes, something clicked into place and a slightly vacant smile appeared upon her face.  
'Hey, Daddy!' Ruby was quite obviously drunk. 'How's life treating you?'

'Compared to what you're going to get from me, it is paradise,' Max assured her in a growl. 'What the hell were you doing with my BMW?' He dragged Ruby up into a standing position.

She swayed precariously but managed to keep herself upright.  
'Driving. Well, I _was_ driving but then this car – or was it two cars? – jumped out of nowhere at me and…' Ruby clapped her hands together. She was apparently amazed by this simple gesture as she stared at her hands for a very long time afterwards.

Max turned around to look at Will, who shrugged.

'It's a good excuse,' Will told his father, amused by the situation, 'I wish I'd thought of it a few years ago.' When his father glared at him, he merely rolled his eyes, reminding him, 'I am what I am, Dad.'

Max snorted, muttering darkly,  
'I've heard that one before.' He turned his glare to Ruby, informing her, 'I intend to press charges and have you pay for all the damage you've caused.'

'That's a bit harsh, Dad,' Will said, stepping forward. 'It's only a car –'

'I don't care, William! I've had it with my children disgracing the family name! _My_ name!' Max cried, attracting the attentions of several nearby police officers. 'First Nicki –'

'No,' William was quick to argue, 'first it was me and thenit was_ Jasmine_.'

Max span around to glare venomously at his son.  
'Jasmine never did anything to disgrace the family name, unlike yourself.'

Will rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he muttered,  
'Whatever you say, Dad.'

'First it was you, then it was Nicki and now it's Ruby!' Max was quiet for a moment. 'I'm quite sure that it's Nicki's influence.'

'You give me too much credit,' Nicki told her father sharply as she swept past him, instantly at her sister's side, slowly easing her into a sitting position. 'Hey, Ruby – you okay?'

'I don't feel too great,' Ruby admitted in a weak voice.

'You don't look too great either,' Will told her, crouching down next to her. He now looked over at Nicki, taking in what she was wearing, frowning. 'Please don't wear that dress again,' he requested.

'Don't worry, I'm going to get out of this atrocity as soon as I can,' Nicki promised her brother, bemused when her brother looked relieved. 'Why are you so bothered?'

'Because a lot of cops are admiring your "figure",' Will told Nicki in an almost possessive manner. He couldn't help it – she was his little sister and favourite sibling.

Nicki grinned.  
'I suppose I'll just have to deal with it until this is over.' She rubbed Ruby's back in a soothing manner and looked over at the mangled body of what she assumed to be her father's BMW. She whistled lowly, asking, 'How did you manage to do _that_?'

'No idea –'

'Two cars "jumped" out at her,' Max said scornfully.

Nicki pondered this for a moment before nodding.  
'Creative.' She looked at her sister, who was leaning her head against Nicki, and murmured, 'You're going to be fine - but you're never going near my Audi.'

Will smirked.  
'Yeah, how many times have _I_ heard that one? Anyway, the kid does good work.' He motioned towards the car, chuckling. As Nicki stood up, a deep frown on her face, he now allowed Ruby to rest her head against him and looked up at Nicki with a wary look upon his face. 'What's up, Nix? I don't like that look on your face.'

'Neither do I, Will.' Having taken the car keys from the floor next to Ruby's feet, Nicki unlocked the trunk of the car, sincerely hoping the red liquid slowly dripping from the back of the car wasn't what she thought it was. Nicki opened the trunk and grimaced. 'Will, get Mac on the phone –'

'Why would you want Mac here?' Max asked as scornfully as he could, though he wasn't able to hide how uncomfortable he felt at the mention of Mac's name.

Nicki just ignored her father. As Will looked inquisitively at her, Nicki explained.  
'This just became of homicide case.'

* * *

'One more time,' Mac said, raising his eyebrows in a way that told Nicki that he wanted no lies.

Nicki sighed in a frustrated way, shaking her head.  
'I'm being a maid of honour, I didn't come out dressed like _this_ in the middle of November because I felt like it!' Nicki explained for the fifth time. 'And I'm not ever wearing this ever again. Ever.'

Mac nodded, now looking down into the trunk and the body that lay inside it.  
'Any idea who she is?'

Nicki shook her head.  
'No.' She glanced over at her father, who was being interviewed by Flack. She laughed. 'I bet _that_ is an awkward conversation – I may have to go and rescue him in a moment.'

'Which one?' Mac asked, watching his goddaughter closely as she answered.

'Don – _Detective_ Flack,' Nicki corrected herself hastily.

'First name terms?' Mac raised his eyebrows, still watching Nicki and how eager she now seemed to be to escape. 'Are you blushing?'

'What?' Nicki cried, wishing that her compact mirror wasn't in her bag – in her car. 'I don't blush,' she proclaimed. 'Anyway, it's less awkward that way – you can't go around life calling everybody by their job title, can you?'

Mac grinned at Nicki, holding up his hands in a mock show of innocence.  
'Okay, okay, you can stop with the third degree now, Nicki. So, when did you get here?'

'Look who's giving me the third degree now,' Nicki muttered darkly. She was thoughtful before saying at her normal tone, 'About forty minutes ago – I rushed here from the dress fitting, just managing to beat rush hour traffic by about a minute. I've probably picked up a few speeding tickets but oh well. Will sent me a text, saying Ruby had gotten into a car crash and being the excellent sister I am, I came. I would've come in something different but the dress is stubborn and won't come off.'

'Stubborn – much like the woman who's wearing it,' Mac remarked.

'Oh, very funny, Mac!' Nicki rolled her eyes, glancing back over to the two men she was keeping a very close eye on. 'He looks about ready to commit,' Nicki murmured. 'I'll be right back.' With great care, she picked her way through the crime scene and walked over towards her father. When she caught Flack's eye and he rolled his eyes, Nicki called over to him, 'Tanchumay!'

Flack frowned, not bothering to respond. The frown only deepened when Max, upon seeing Nicki walking towards them, excused himself.

'You know, I'm not sure people are actually allowed to excuse themselves from giving statements,' Nicki remarked lightly, though she was obviously amused by this turn of events.

Flack shrugged.  
'It doesn't matter, he'd just finished anyway. Well, he finished his statements about five minutes ago –'

It was now Nicki's turn to frown as she asked,  
'Why did he stick around then? I'd have thought that he would've wanted to get out of here as soon as possible – you know, prize BMW trashed, dead body in the trunk,' Nicki explained. She was silent for a moment before she said, 'And he accuses _us_ of dragging the family name through the mud.'

Flack chuckled.  
'Yeah.' He now scratched the back of his neck, attempting to explain what Max had been talking to him about. 'Actually, he was talking to me about you,' he told Nicki.

'Oh, really?' Nicki raised her eyebrows, glancing over at where her sister was sat in the back of an ambulance. 'Was it a lecture?'

'Yeah… On how you're a terrible person and how lucky I am. I'm sure you've heard it before,' Flack said quickly.

'Believe me, I have. He hasn't forgiven me for Jasmine's death yet.' Nicki muttered, 'so yeah, I've heard the original, all three remixes and a digital re-release. I hear he's going to put it on vinyl by next week.'

Flack shook his head, murmuring,  
'You're his daughter, he shouldn't be treating you like that.'

Nicki shrugged.  
'I don't know – after everything, I probably deserve it in some way. But I never thought it'd be like this.'

'Questions with answers I won't like?' Flack guessed. When Nicki nodded mutely, he looked at her, asking quietly, 'Got any further on that Lopez case?'

'You know everything I do,' Nicki told him, looking up at him. When she caught him staring down at her, Nicki raised her eyebrows. 'Have I got something on my face?'

'What?' Flack blinked, shaking his head. 'No, it's just that you're wearing a dress in the middle of November.'

'Long story,' Nicki said swiftly, really not wanting to get into it. She ran a hand through her hair. 'I'm worried, Don – she's my baby sister.'

'Hey, it's okay,' Flack reassured her, unsure whether to accompany this with a physical gesture to show he was there for Nicki – like putting a hand on her shoulder – or whether to leave it. He decided upon the latter. 'She's family – that's their job, to scare the hell out of you.' He smiled at Nicki when she laughed. 'You're still there,' he muttered quietly.

'Pardon?' Nicki asked, not sure whether she'd just been listening to the traffic.

'Nothing,' Flack said quickly. He looked back down at Nicki and her dress, now saying, 'Please don't wear that dress again.'

Nicki raised a single eyebrow, almost defiantly, as she looked up at Flack and asked,  
'And why is that?'

'Because the pink doesn't go with the colour of your eyes.'

Nicki smiled at this observation, nodding.  
'Yeah, you're right. I'm glad somebody else noticed that and didn't say that other cops are admiring my "figure" or that the shoes don't go with the dress.' She motioned towards the trainers she was wearing. 'I may have to cry if I can't get this dress off. You don't understand how deeply I hate it –'

'Well, if it's anything like how you feel about your dad, I can hazard a guess.'

'Touché. So, no furious one-sided discussion on how families from "different classes" shouldn't even be friends, let alone date?'

'Oh, I got that one all right – except he was talking about it as if _I'm_ the snob, not you.' When Nicki's jaw dropped and she stared up at him, Flack laughed at the pure indignation upon her face. 'You know it's true, Nix,' he told her with a mock sadness in his voice.

'I am not a snob,' Nicki snapped as they walked over to Mac.

'You're walking around in the middle of November in a short, pink dress.'

'It doesn't mean I'm a snob.' Nicki spoke with a razor-sharp tone.

'You live in a penthouse apartment that cost more than either of us can probably count up to,' Flack now commented.

'That doesn't mean I'm a snob, Don!' Nicki argued. She put a hand on Don's arm to stop him walking and looked up at him, saying, 'The word "snob" implies a certain sense of elitism, like you're better than everybody else and that you won't spend any time with anybody outside of your "tier". If I'm a snob then why did I spend four years with you? Anyway,' Nicki muttered as they now carried on walking towards Mac, 'it sounds so British.'

* * *

'So Ruby's the chief suspect in a murder case?' Samantha asked Nicki as they sat in the front room, watching the television.

'Yes.'

'And she smashed up your dad's BMW whilst being completely blitzed?'

Nicki nodded curtly.  
'Yes.'

'And now she's –'

'Now she's in hospital for the night, possible the next couple of days because she threw up so violently she hit her head on the metal edge of a door and managed to knock herself out. Remember that, Sam – drinking, throwing up and passing out don't go well together.'

Samantha nodded, giving her flatmate a strained smile. Nicki had no idea what she was saying applied to Samantha but she knew that one day, with the way things were going, it might be her, trashing a car – probably Don's – and passing out. Maybe she wouldn't be in hospital, though. Maybe she wouldn't wake up.  
'I hope she gets well soon.'

'Getting well isn't what she needs, Sam – getting out of this mess is what she needs,' Nicki said, not really watching the film on the screen. She sighed wearily when her home phone rang in the hallway; standing up, she slowly walked over to where it was, answering just before it went to her answering machine.  
'Hello?'

'_Hey, Nix – it's Ed.'_

'Oh, hey.'

'_Listen, I can't get to Ruby right now – seriously, all of this paperwork that seems to be flooding in is killing me.'_

'You called to tell me that?' Nicki asked, irritated. 'Can't you get Stuart to do it or something? I mean, prosecution _could _argue that you've got a conflict of interest –'

'_Please _don't _tell me how to do my job, Nicki – I'll take care of this for you and for her. It wouldn't seem right if I handed the case over to somebody else; she's practically family, after all.'_

'How'd you work that one out?' Nick asked rather sharply, instantly wishing that she hadn't said it at all. Still, his constant persistence, especially after promising not to bother Nicki about it until after his brother's wedding, was beginning to get on Nicki's already frayed nerves. 'Never mind, I don't want to get into that – just find a way to get my sister out of all of this. Despite what we all know, she's a good kid and completely incapable of murder. It was my dad's car and although nothing can be certain until the DNA results and fingerprints come back, it's possible that my dad knew her –'

'_You can't be serious! He's your father –'_

Nicki stood up a little straighter as she said,  
'Please _don't_ tell me how to do my job, Ed. He'll still be a suspect in this case, no matter you're your opinion is – I'm just glad I'm going to be of the same opinion as the NYPD. Got to go now – I'm tired from all of the stress, not to mention this ordeal with my sister.'

Edward laughed on the other end of the line.  
_'The dress fitting was that bad?'_

'It's a long story, I'll tell you when I next see you,' Nicki promised. 'Have a good time with your paperwork – is Louisa staying behind with you?' she now asked, grinning when she heard Edward groan.

'_She always stays late – she's not even got any paperwork either!' _Edward sighed. _'I suppose it won't go away by talking about it – I'll just sign off on these last few pieces of paper. Bye, Nicki – I love you.'_

Nicki smiled, nodding.  
'You too.' She hung up, putting the phone back down on the receiver, and walked back over towards the front room.

Samantha looked up at Nicki over the back of the sofa.  
'Boyfriend?'

Nicki nodded, shifting her weight from one leg to the other.

'My brother?'

If Nicki had been drinking anything, it would now be all over her floor and the back of the sofa. Instead she stared down at Samantha, spluttering,  
'What? Why would you even say something like that?'

Samantha shrugged.  
'Because he was talking to me about you a couple of days ago, saying how he's really glad that you're in New York and how you're trying to salvage something. Then Jess got in from the precinct and we had to change the subject. '

'I think he meant friends, Sam – we're trying to salvage a _friendship_. Still a bit of work left to do on my side, I think, but that's all – _friends_,' Nicki insisted.

Samantha shrugged, turning her gaze back to the second-rate film upon the television.  
'If that's what you say –'

'Yes, Sam, it is and I'm sure that's what Don would say too. He has Detective Angell, after all – we're both perfectly happy with other people.'

Samantha shrugged again.  
'Bet you don't go together like –'

'_Samantha_!' Nicki snapped, grabbing the remote off the arm of the sofa. 'Just stop.'

Samantha held up her hands.  
'Fine, it was just my opinion – I thought you were supposed to uphold the right to free speech and everything?' Samantha asked, muttering darkly beneath her breath.

In an equally dark tone, Nicki merely replied,  
'That's the UN and sometimes, just because you can say something doesn't mean that you should.'

'So the human race is allowed to say whatever they want to a certain extent?' Samantha shook her head, glaring up at Nicki when she began to flick through the different channels. 'I was watching that!' she protested.

Nicki replied by shrugging and sitting down on the chair she had previously been sat on.  
'You are sadly mistaken if you think that I am spending my night watching something about mutant alligators fighting dinosaurs with the head of a shark, Samantha – there's got to be something worth watching on.'

'You think I haven't checked?'

Nicki looked at Samantha, her eyebrows raised as she told Samantha her answer.  
'No, I don't think that you've already checked.' When Nicki found that there was nothing else on, apart from the disastrous action movie, she threw the remote back to Samantha, saying, 'I'm going into my study.'

'Okay, Miss Million Dollars.' Samantha raised a hand to wave at Nicki before settling back into watching the film.

Nicki rolled her eyes, unsure being called by a fraction of her bank account balance was meant to be an insult or not. If it was, at least it was more subtly done that just outright calling Nicki a snob. Nicki smirked, finding the recollection of that part of the evening made her rather happier than it had done at the time.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter - by the way, tanchumay means "my condolences" in Hebrew. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope you all have a good week.  
Grace x**


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